The Lyman Twins
by bauerfreak
Summary: Prequel to The Lyman Family. The girls are thirteen and Donna is running for public office. Will it tear the family apart?
1. Default Chapter

Chapter One

Notes:

This is the prequel to my first fanfic, "The Lyman Family". You do not need to have read that to understand this one, but it helps gain more insight. Thank you to everyone who read TLF – I appreciate your support and kind words so much – that's why I'm continuing! Let me try to explain further my little AU. It takes place in 2001 and the girls are now thirteen years old. The school they go to – The New School of Northern Virginia (which actually exists) is a grade 4-12 school. I guess the Bartlet Administration was back in the 80's. Everything that happened on the show happened in this AU, only in the 80's (and a fine era it was, may I add). Huck and Molly Ziegler were born in '86, and Katie and Audrey were born in '88. Anyone – did Sam go to Yale? I think this is right, but don't sue. I think that is everything. If not, I'll add more later. Thanks again for reading & I hope you enjoy!

Audrey Lyman confidently stepped out of the family's Jeep Grand Cherokee and looked across the sidewalk to the New School of Northern Virginia, the school she and her twin sister, Kaitlyn, had attended since fourth grade. Today was her first day of eighth grade. One more year until high school when she would move to the other wing of the school with the cooler, older kids and she wouldn't be stuck in this childish hell with a bunch of ten year olds.

Kaitlyn and Audrey had both turned thirteen over the summer and were curious about everything to do with high school and being a teenager. Audrey had lately been trying hard – maybe too hard – to get in with the high school crowd. With worried hearts, Donna and Josh Lyman, said goodbye to their budding, spunky daughter and her more reserved twin sister.

"Have a great day, girls." Josh told them. "Mom will be back to pick you up at 3:00."

"We know, dad!" Audrey complained, anxious to depart and get into school with her friends. "It's not like we're in kindergarten."

"Be good and listen to your teachers." Donna reminded her daughter seriously. Donna and Josh were worried at what the new school year would bring for their daughters, especially Audrey. On her last report card, some of her teachers had commented that she was inattentive and sometimes even disruptive in class by talking to friends. Her English teacher had even caught her text messaging in class on her cell phone once. Normally a straight-A student, she had slipped a little, getting three B's. Her grades were still fine, but it wasn't her best work, which everyone had become accustomed to getting.

The daughters of a U.S. Senator and an assistant to another Senator, a family friend, Sam Seaborn, the faculty seemed to automatically expect more of the Lyman girls. Katie and Audrey were both very aware of this fact, but handled it very differently. Audrey had always been the carefree one and handled the pressure in stride. She didn't seem bothered by it most of the time. Audrey just did her work, got her usual A, and went on to the next task. Kaitlyn wasn't as confident as her sister, and usually added more pressure to the situation that was necessary. She felt A's were always expected and high A's, if not 100's. If Katie got a 90, she would always feel her heart drop a little, disappointed in herself. She never told her parents this, but they knew she was a little hard on herself and felt it was somewhat good for her. It didn't help that she had a vivacious twin sister who didn't seem to care and who got almost equally good grades as she did.

Josh and Donna could tell Katie was not quite as excited as her sister at returning to school. Katie had been quiet the last few days and hadn't said a word during the car ride over.

Donna turned around in her seat to give her daughter a little extra encouragement. She met Katie's nervous eyes.

"Katie, you'll be just fine. The first day's always a little nerve-wrecking." Donna patted her knee.

"And you have nothing to worry about." Josh added, "Now you're the oldest in this wing of the school. You can pick on the younger kids."

Donna playfully hit her husband in the bicep. "Josh!"

"I know." She offered a small smile, even though their words had not encouraged her at all. "I'll see you at three, mom."

"Bye, sweetheart." Josh called as she stepped out of the SUV.

"Have a great day." Donna added as she finally shut the door. She turned to Josh in the driver's seat.

"It never gets any easier." Donna said as he put the car back into drive and started to pull out of the drop-off circle, which was crowded with other parents doing the exact same thing.

"What are you going to do when we have to drop them off at college?" Josh inquired, keeping his eyes on the road.

Donna let her head hit the rest on the back of the chair.

"God, Josh, don't even go there." Donna pleaded. They were growing up so fast – college was only five years away. They were eight years old five years ago. Where did the time go?

Josh reached over and took Donna's hand. Even though she joked around about it, he could tell that them getting older really bothered her. They went through this every year. Josh dreaded the day they would finally send them off to some college. Eighteen years of noise, story times, fights, and sleepovers and then suddenly nothing. Silence. How would they deal with that? He tried to push it out of his mind.

One thing at a time, Josh, he told himself. They're still only thirteen.

"They'll be fine." He ran his thumb over her knuckles, trying to soothe her. "They're good kids."

Katie made it a point to follow her sister at a distance as they entered school. She didn't want to get caught in her sister's shadow once again. Audrey was one of the most popular and pretty girls in the middle school and was even getting in with some of the high school kids. She had beautiful, straight blonde hair that shone in the sun and was maturely physically at a much faster rate than Katie. Katie felt she still looked like a little girl – her chest was still almost flat, she had no curves, and she had just gone through a bit of a growth spurt. Her dark brown, curly hair looked immature compared to Audrey's stunning coiffeur. She felt gangly and awkward, a stark contrast from her gorgeous, confident twin sister who was now greeting a group of about ten kids at the front entrance to the school. Katie sighed and decided to take the side door.

Katie sat at her science table during the last period of the school day. This was luckily the only class she had with Audrey this year. It was much better than when they were in elementary school. The New School was a small one, only allowing one classroom for grades four, five and six. Katie couldn't get away from her sister at all then. Not that she hated her sister – Audrey could just be a little, well, too popular. Katie preferred to be known as herself, not Audrey's sister, who is, oh yeah, a little bit geekier and not so attractive.

"You're in eighth grade now. That means you are expected to be responsible." The teacher, Ms. Lewis, rambled on, "That means you come to class prepared each day, you turn your assignments in on time, and you take notes and pay attention in class. Audrey Lyman!" She suddenly shouted.

Katie looked over and saw that her sister had been secretly reading a magazine under her table. Her head shot up but she didn't look embarrassed, as Katie knew she would be if in the same situation. Then again, Katie would never dream of reading a magazine in class.

Ms Lewis walked to Audrey's table and snatched the Teen People magazine out of her hands.

"I'll be keeping this." She announced to the class. "Audrey has also just demonstrated breaking on of the rules of my classroom." Ms. Lewis was glaring at the girl.

"Never bring anything to work on or read from another class or your personal magazine collection. You're on my time while in this classroom. If I catch anyone doing this, he or she will be required to write a letter home to mom and dad about what you did, why it was disrespectful, and how you'll be responsible in the future." She rattled on smugly. "Audrey, I'll need that tomorrow, signed by your parents."

The bell finally rang, releasing them from the tension and boredom in the room. As Ms. Lewis turned her back, Audrey made a silly face at her, making the class laugh. Ms. Lewis gave her a warning glare.

"I'll be watching you, Miss Lyman." She told her as Audrey walked towards the door.

Katie waited for her sister at the doorway, slightly amused but feeling bad for her sister.

"Smooth move, Audrey! Real smooth!" Katie teased, which got her an evil look.

"Shut up!" Audrey ordered her twin. "Not a word to mom and dad."

Katie gaped in surprise.

"You mean you're not going to tell them?"

"Of course not!" She exclaimed. "Katie, it's the first day of school and they already warned me about behaving at school. I'd be in so much trouble." Audrey knew her sister would be getting all goody-two-shoes on her and anticipated a rebuttal.

"Audrey…"

"Don't start, Katie, please." They stopped by their lockers, situated side by side in the ABC-arranged line. "I know what I'm getting myself into and I will fully accept the consequences if they ever find out. Which they shouldn't as long as you don't go postal on me."

"I'm not going to lie for you." Katie told her sister as they packed up the needed books.

"You won't have to. They're not going to ask, 'Katie, did your sister get in trouble today in science class?'." Audrey mocked. "Just don't mention anything and they won't ask and you won't have to lie."

"I don't know, Audrey." Katie was reluctant.

Audrey stood up and put both hands on her hips.

"Kaitlyn Marie Lyman, there is nothing wrong with a little fibbing every once in a while, especially when you're helping out your sister. Now swear to me you're not going to say anything." She ordered.

Katie looked down uncomfortably.

"Katie!" She persisted.

"Fine. I swear." She gave in.

"Good." Audrey pulled the straps of her backpack onto her shoulders. "Let's go find mom."

Katie uncrossed her fingers behind her back and quickly finished getting her things together. Finally, she joined Audrey, walking side by side out to the pick-up circle.

"Donna, do you know where that environmental memo is?" Sam asked his assistant. Donna Lyman had been working for her long-time friend, Sam Seaborn, for about three years now. After the girls had been born, she'd taken some time off until they'd turned ten. Josh and Donna had grown close to Sam years ago when they'd all worked together. Donna had then been Josh's assistant and eventually couldn't function without each other. Sam marveled at their relationship and was quick to snatch up the first-hand-witnessed hard-working Donna when she was looking for work again. She was amazing and was quickly outgrowing her job.

"Yeah, I just filed it away in that cabinet." She told him, always super organized and on top of things. "Here, I'll get it. I know exactly where it is." Donna got up and had the document in Sam's hands within seconds.

"Thanks, Donna. I don't know how you stay so organized. I guess they don't teach that at Yale." He joked about his alma mater. Donna laughed a little and Sam turned to go back to his office.

"Oh, Sam!" She called, causing him to turn around with his eyebrows perched up in attention. "I need to talk to you about something." Donna told her friend and boss with a nervous pit in her stomach.

"Jesus! Where's mom?" Audrey moaned as she picked at the school's lawn with her shoe at almost 3:20.

"She's just running a little late." Katie reasoned, though she was getting a little annoyed herself. Katie always had a mental argument with herself during instances like this. Her mom worked hard for Uncle Sam. She didn't need her daughters giving her a hard time about being a few minutes late. She had to take time out of her own day to come pick them up. Finally, they saw her pulling up.

"Hallelujah!" Audrey celebrated, tired from sitting in the pounding August heat. Audrey called shotgun and got in the front seat as her sister took the back.

"It's about time, mom." Audrey mumbled to her mother. Katie wanted to slap her sister upside the head for that comment, but harnessed her discontent just like she always had. It wasn't worth the verbal attach she'd get from her sister.

"Audrey, please do not speak to me like that." Donna reprimanded. "I needed to talk to your Uncle Sam for a few minutes and it took a little longer than I thought."

"Whatever." Audrey shook her head and stared out the window as her mother pulled out of the circle.

"Yeah, whatever. If that's the kind of attitude you're going to have during eighth grade, you'll be in for a very unpleasant year. Let's lose the attitude." Donna warned her shortly.

"You don't have to bite my head off, mom. Geez! Did Uncle Sam snap at your or something?"

"What? No, of course not. Uncle Sam's not like that. I've just got something on my mind." Donna peered into the rearview mirror to check traffic and caught Katie's sullen face instead.

"Are you okay back there, sweetheart?" Donna asked in a comforting voice.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine. I just had a long day." Katie answered quietly, looking down at her feet.

"Well, that makes two-fourths of us, then." Donna said. "I think that's a large enough fraction to eat that Sara Lee cake we've been saving for weeks. Whaddaya think, Katie?"

"Okay, mom." Was all Katie said.

"Finally!" Audrey exclaimed. "I've had my eye on that thing for the longest time! And dad has too."

"Well, then, it's settled." Donna proclaimed, drumming the steering wheel happily a few times. "I have something important I want to talk to you about tonight."

"We're getting an eighteen-year-old male nanny?" Audrey guessed hopefully.

"Definitely not. Get your mind out of the gutter."

"What is it then?" Audrey pleaded.

"You'll find out tonight." Donna reiterated. At least Audrey seemed upbeat and interested. Donna wasn't sure how the girls were going to take her news. Sam had been heartbroken but 100 supportive. She and Josh had discussed her decision together at length, weighing every possible pro and con. They'd reached the decision together and hoped the girls would support it.

"Mom, you're such a drama queen."

"Yes, I know. Even worse around my two drama princesses." Donna teased. Then she took a deep breath and concentrated on the road.

Katie threw her backpack onto her bedroom floor, exhausted, and did what she always did after school: logged on to her AOL Instant Messenger. As of three weeks ago, she had an extra reason to make sure she logged on as frequently as possible. Two of her best friends, Molly and Huck Ziegler, had recently moved to New York City because their father, Toby Ziegler, had just been elected as a House Representative for the state. Uncle Toby had also worked with her parents and Uncle Sam years ago. Huck and Molly were like the older, wiser brother and sister she never had. They were also twins coincidentally, so they always related well to each other. Both twins were about to begin their sophomore years at a still undetermined high school in New York City. They'd all grown up together because their parents had stayed close throughout the years and they all understood the kind of environment the others lived in. When the Zieglers moved, Katie had been especially heartbroken. She'd become extremely close with them in the past year as Katie and Audrey had been beginning to grow apart. Katie was going through a touch and awkward time in her life and now her main support system was gone. She could really use Molly right about now. Molly knew all about the prepubescent girl crap she was experiencing. She'd just been through it herself.

Katie logged on under her screen name, katiebell88, the nickname her father had donned her soon after birth, followed by her birth year. She quickly looked to see if they were online.

Two windows popped up simultaneously before she had time to look from H-dog and crazymolly. Thank God they were on. They both had their own laptops and the three friends signed in to a chat room where they could all talk together.

H-dog: What's up, lil' Lyman!

crazymolly: hey, girl

katiebell88: hey, guys!

katiebell88: you have no idea how happy I am to talk to you!

crazymolly: we miss u like crazy!

katiebell88: how's nyc?

H-dog: it's pretty kewl, I guess

crazymolly: we haven't really had a chance to sightsee

crazymolly: we've been making public appearances

crazymolly: yippee

H-dog: ditto : (

Katiebell88: at least you're still on summer vac.

crazymolly: not much of a vac : (

H-dog: dad's really happy though

crazymolly: yep

crazymolly: how's home? any better?

katiebell88: it's okay

katiebell88: they're already getting on Audrey's case on the first day

H-dog: that sux

katiebell88: my mom apparently has some huge thing she wants to talk

to us about tonight…

crazymolly: oooh! sounds interesting!

H-dog: yeah

katiebell88: dunno…we'll see

katiebell88: dad just got home – he's calling

katiebell88: I better log off

crazymolly: okay, lil' sis! call if you need to

H-dog: take care & good luck!

katiebell88: bye, Z's; luv ya

Katie reluctantly logged off and made her way out to the kitchen where her parents were talking.

"I'll tell them tonight." She heard her mother say in a hushed whisper. What the hell was the big deal? This better be good and juicy, whatever it was. They both stopped talking and looked at Katie as soon as she entered the room.

"Katie-bell!" Her dad greeted and started to walk over to his daughter. "How was your first day back?" Josh asked as he gave her a big hug. She seemed like she needed on a lot lately. Plus, Audrey didn't let him hug her anymore. Katie was still his baby girl. His youngest had always been relatively confident, though never as confident as Audrey. Katie's self-worth had seemed to be spiraling downwards the past year or so. Josh didn't know why – Donna speculated it was all the changes a teen girl went through and the inevitable 'Who am I?' phase famous in the adolescent years. But Audrey seemed to be fine. Still, he'd give her as much support, reassurance and hugs in the meantime.

"It was fine, dad. Just really long." She admitted, though she assumed her mom had already told him.

"Yeah, that's what mom said."

Yep. Why did she have to tell him everything? Could this woman keep no secrets? She loved her mom, but this trait sometimes irritated her.

"Good news travels fast." Katie commented, avoiding their faces.

"Dinner's ready, anyway. We can talk later." Josh told her.

Who said anything about wanting to talk about it? Must they know everything about her life? Still, Katie kept it all inside and worded none of her objections. She picked up the plates with a tamed anger and marched to the dinner table.

After dinner, Donna busted out the Sara Lee cake just like she'd promised and the others were elated. A decoy, Katie and Audrey thought. What was up?

"Sweet substance of the Gods!" Josh announced as he took his first bite. Audrey dug in just as hungrily, whereas Donna and Katie took smaller, ladylike bites. They all enjoyed the cake for a minute or so amongst the occasional moan or grunt of approval.

"So, mom, what's the big news? You're not pregnant, are you? God knows I only have enough time to pick on one sibling and that's an overtime job with Katie here." Audrey jabbed.

"No, sweetheart." Donna cleared up. "But I think I'm ready to tell you now." She glanced over at Josh who smiled back at her with love and support in his eyes. He took her hand and squeezed, keeping his gaze locked on her.

The girls put their forks down in anticipation.

"Well, girls, I'm telling you this in hopes that I'll have your support, because Lord knows I'll need it."

"What is it mom?" Audrey coaxed.

"Your father and I have already discussed it and you know I talked to Uncle Sam today and it's fine with him."

"What mom!" Audrey moaned impatiently.

"I've decided to run for a seat in the House of Representatives."


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Thanks to everyone who pointed out that Sam went to Princeton for undergrad and then Duke for Law School. Also – I couldn't remember Huck and Molly's names at the time I started writing. When I went back and changed their names, I forgot to change a few spots – oopsy! But, yeah, their names are Huck and Molly, just like in the show. Without further ado, here it is. Thanks so much for everyone who read ch. One.

"Huh?" Was the first thing Katie had said for the last five minutes in response to her mother's news. It was about the last thing Katie thought her mother would say. She already had one parent in Congress, she didn't need two.

Donna chuckled nervously in response to her daughters' gaping mouths. Josh kept his eyes on his wife in support.

"I, uh…I'm running for one of the open seats for Connecticut for the next election in 2002." She smiled, now unsure of her decision than ever. Her children's support meant everything to her. She couldn't do this if they were going to be in opposition.

"Why?" Audrey asked her candidly.

Donna tucked a piece of her golden blonde hair behind her ear even though it had already been in place.

"Well, I've been working for Uncle Sam for a while now and I kind of feel like it's time to spread my wings a little."

Katie took a sip out of her empty glass of water, trying to drain out any tiny drop to soothe her shock. Josh finally looked over at his girls, sensing it wasn't going well. Katie seemed especially upset, but she was keeping it all in.

"Girls, this is a great opportunity for your mom and she's an excellent candidate. She deserves our support." He told them seriously. They knew this wasn't going to be easy to tell them, but he just wished they'd say something.

"Connecticut?" Audrey asked. "Are we going to have to move like the Zieglers?" Leaving her friends was the first thing on her mind.

"No, sweetheart." Josh clarified, a little disappointed that was the first thing on her mind. "We'd stay right her in D.C. You wouldn't have to move."

The girls had been through elections before when Josh had run for the House and later the Senate. They knew what would be coming: being dragged on the campaign trail for at least part of the time, making public appearances as a family, and minding their manners. Both instantly dreaded it and Audrey was the first one to vocalize it.

"But you can't run! Dad's already a politician. We can't have two!"

"Audrey, your mother's entitled to do whatever she wants, and she decided this is what she'd like to do."

"But…" She stumbled, wondering why she was the only one who found this totally preposterous. "You can't run! You have to be here for us!"

Josh and Donna would have to write that one down. Audrey actually wanted her mother around. Donna still wasn't saying anything so Josh stepped back in.

"You're getting older, girls, and you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourselves after school." Josh reasoned with them. Or just her. Katie still hadn't really said anything. She was currently staring a hole into the table. Josh grabbed her hand, startling her a little bit.

"Sorry." He apologized when he saw her jump. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"I…" She stammered.

"But then we'll have to take the bus!" Audrey shallowly complained.

"Audrey, there are greater issues at hand here." Josh finally called her on her selfishness. "Your mom has the opportunity to follow her dreams and really make a difference in the world."

Donna finally spoke again.

"Girls, I know this is sudden and it would mean a huge change in lifestyle, but it's something I really want to do. Like your dad said."

Audrey shook her head in disbelief.

"Whatever, mom. Just do what you want."

Audrey pushed her chair out noisily and threw her napkin down on her plate.

"Audrey!" Josh called her gently. Even though her words had been somewhat selfish and short, he hated to see her upset about it. Josh had seen what his elections had done to them years ago. It exhausted them to no end, but they would need to be there at least part of the time with them. He couldn't stand to be away from them for too long, and he knew Donna wouldn't be able to either. Josh could tell they were just thinking of the negative things right now. They weren't thinking about all the interesting people they would meet, the places they would see, and all the fun they'd have together traveling across the country.

"Just leave her, Josh, it's fine." Donna told him as they heard her door shut loudly.

"No, I'm gonna go talk to her." Josh decided. He didn't sound mad, just a little frustrated and disappointed. Josh got up and tossed his napkin on his plate also, making his way to Audrey's room.

Donna watched her husband walk away and then turned her attention quickly back to Katie, who seemed to be trying to compose herself. She reached her hand across the table and took Katie's.

"I know it's hard, Katie. And it's a shock, but this is something I've always dream of doing. I hope you can understand that. I can't do this without you."

"I know mom. It's okay." She offered quietly. What she really wanted to do was stand up and yell out, 'No! Please don't do this!', but that just wasn't her. Her mom needed their support, and, as usual, she was the one that ended up showing reluctant support and Audrey had thrown her mini-tantrum, escaping the real issue at hand.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Donna managed as tears formed in her eyes. "I can always count on you." She loved both her daughters deeply and equally, but Katie had always had a tenderness and compassion towards others that Audrey rarely showed.

Katie choked back the tears that were threatening to spill over – tears that had been burning in confusion. She hated the role she had in this family. Picking up the pieces Audrey threw around at will; always being quiet and never showing her true feelings out of guilt.

"I need to go do my homework." She announced, wanting out of the situation.

"Okay, honey. I'll be back later to say goodnight."

Oh my God! Katie screamed in her head. Just leave me alone – I'm not six years old!

Josh tapped on the door covered with hunky teenage boy pin-ups. He always had to resist the urge to tear them down when he went to Audrey's room.

"What?" The angry owner of the room demanded.

"It's dad. We need to talk." He peeked in the door to find her throwing one of about twenty garments from the floor into the hamper. Audrey was what he referred to as an angry cleaner – she only picked up when something was bothering her. This way, she got to throw things around.

"Come in, I guess." She mumbled.

"You wanna try that again?" He told her. Josh and Donna had been trying to be consistent about not letting Audrey get away with the mouthy comebacks or utterances she'd been trying out at length lately.

"Come in." She replied in a mock-sweet voice."

"Thank you." He came in and closed the door, immediately heading to her bed. He quickly cleared off the pile of crap that had somehow found its way there since the last time she'd slept.

"Come sit down." He patted the space next to him. "We need to have a little conversation."

Audrey sighed theatrically and rolled her eyes, knowing an inevitable lecture lay ahead. She sat as far away from Josh as possible and stared out the window defiantly. Josh wasn't going to let her get away with this cold shoulder crap she frequented.

"Uh-uh." He told her, eyebrows raised. "Over here." He pointed again to the space beside him. "This Queen Bee attitude stuff is not flying in this house. You will look at me and talk to me, understand?"

Audrey nodded and looked at him reluctantly.

"Better." He commented. "Now tell me why your mother running for election is bothering you so much."

"You wouldn't understand." She mumbled, looking down.

"Excuse me?" He tilted his head to get a look at her face, guessing she was being a smart-ass once again.

"I said you wouldn't understand!" She repeated much louder for him, suddenly not caring what he thought, meeting his stern gaze again.

"Why don't you try explaining it to me."

"How about I don't!" She answered back quickly with edge in her voice. She was so tired of him asking her to explain everything to him. It's not that complicated – she didn't want her mom to run for elections because it just might ruin her life.

"Listen, little lady. I don't know who in the hell you think you are, but you do not get by talking to anyone like that! You are just asking for it!"

Audrey just crossed her arms and looked away.

"Your mother is running for the House whether you like it or not. You can make this a supportive family venture, or you can make your life a living hell, it's your choice."

"It'll be a living hell either way." Audrey retorted, just loud enough for him to hear.

Josh resisted the instinct to blow up at her and took a different route, not letting her experience the thrill of knowing she'd gotten to him.

"Why don't you just stay in here the rest of the night until you can talk to your mother and me in a civil, respectful manner. Until then, I don't want to hear any television, music, talking on the phone, or typing on your computer. You've been warned."

Josh left the room and was proud of himself for not going off on her. It had taken him years to tame his temper. He loved to take the easy, fun way out when battling political opponents years ago. After he'd had kids, he'd come to realize people deserved to be listened to (most people, anyway), and not attacked. He most certainly didn't gain anything on the home front by bellowing and letting his anger take over like he used to.

He joined his wife in the dining room, where she was beginning to clear the dishes away.

"Honey, you don't need to do the dishes." He said, taking the plates from her hands. "I'll take care of it."

"Thanks, Josh." She wiped her hands on her jeans. "How'd it go with Audrey?" She asked, already guessing the answer based on the voices that had been resonating throughout the house.

Josh sighed heavily, attending to the washing up, but focusing still on Donna.

"Not too well." The understatement of the year.

Donna put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes, shifting her weight.

"She'll come around." Josh reassured her. "Once she gets over herself. She's just been so self-involved lately, Donna. Don't take it personally."

"It's hard not to." Donna admitted, now leaning against the counter, facing Josh with her arms crossed.

Josh could tell this was really upsetting her, so he turned off the faucet and quickly dried his hands on a tea towel.

"Donna," He began, standing in front of her, trapping her between him and the counter. "You are the most amazing person I've ever known, and I know I'm biased." He quickly added when he saw a look of objection and dismissal on her face, resting his hands on her sides.

"Don't let Audrey bring you down. You deserve this. This is what you want. You still want this right?" He questioned her, realizing he'd just been assuming that's what she still wanted.

"Yes, of course."

"Okay." He whispered, letting his forehead rest against hers. "Then we'll do it."

Donna smiled at him with that child-like excitement and hope he'd always loved about her. She'd always been his rock, and now it was his turn to keep her going. This was going to be so hard, but he'd do anything for her. He always had and always would.

Katie quickly logged on to her AOL Instant Messenger, anxious to let her frustration out. She knew Huck and Molly would understand, having just survived their father's election. They were the only ones who would get it. The hard work, agony, and endless days were complete hell to live with and she was just supposed to be all smiles all the time about it.

Only Huck was on at the moment.

katiebell88: Huck!

H-dog: hey Katie

H-dog: what's up?

katiebell88: my life is ruined!

H-dog??

katiebell88: my mom's running for the House in Con.

H-dog: r u serious?

katiebell88: this sux so bad

katiebell88: what am I gonna do?

H-dog: calm down –

H-dog: did u just find out?

katiebell88: yeah just now

H-dog: r u okay?

katiebell88: no

H-dog: log off and call me

katiebell88: why?

H-dog: u need to talk to someone, not type

katiebell88: okay

H-dog: call me right away

katiebell88 has logged off

H-dog has logged off

Katie cried as she frantically dialed the Zieglers' house in New York. Huck's dad, Toby, answered unexpectedly. Huck didn't have a phone in his room and probably had to rush out to the kitchen.

"Hello?" The deep, all-too-familiar voice answered.

"Uncle Toby?" She sniffled.

"Katie, is that you?"

"Yeah." She cried more.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"I need to talk top Huck." She told him, hoping she wasn't offending him.

"Sure. He's right here."

Katie heard the phone being handed over. Great, she thought. Uncle Toby will make Huck tell him what's wrong and then he'll tell her parents and they'll be upset with her for not coming to them and then she'll feel guilty and so will they…

"Katie?" Huck said quietly.

"Huck!" She immediately felt better after finally hearing his familiar voice instead of typed words.

"Let me go up to my room with the cordless, hold on." He said. Katie imagined her Uncle Toby putting his hands on his hips and looking a little frustrated at being kept out of the loop.

"Okay, I'm there. What's going on?" He asked with so much concern that she wanted to start bawling.

"I don't understand why she would want to do this to us! She knows how hard the campaign trail is on us!" She started.

"Yeah." He let her know he was listening but he just let her pour her heart out.

"And I really don't want it to happen but I can't say anything because Audrey's gone off on them about it so now I have to mop up the mess…"

"Katie!" Huck finally cut her off in this familiar territory. "You know you don't have to let Audrey dictate what you do. You're your own person. You don't always have to be yin and yang."

"Huck, I can't…"

"Yes, you can." He told her. "You just say it – 'Mom, I don't want you to run for this election.'"

"It's not that simple. You don't have to look at mom's face."

Huck sighed into the phone, now knowing how to counter that one. The Katie/Audrey relationship had been one subject he'd gotten used to discussing over the years with Katie. He could probably get a doctorate in it. But she's pulled out the mom card. That was something he didn't know well. He and his sister had lived with their dad since they were about nine. Their mom just couldn't handle the single mom thing anymore so they got shuffled to their dad's, where they'd been ever since.

"Sorry, Huck." Katie immediately apologized, hoping she hadn't stirred up any difficult moments. "I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Listen, Molly might be better at this kind of stuff, but she's at softball practice right now. I'll have her call you later, okay?"

"Okay." She agreed. "Thanks, Huck."

"Don't mention it. You just need to be honest with them, K." He used his nickname for her.

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Click.

He made it sound so easy. Just be honest with them. She still felt like a little girl around her parents. They were above her – people who you didn't want to make mad or test. Katie wasn't exactly afraid of them; she just never wanted them to be disappointed in her. To see that look on their faces and in their eyes.

Katie had been so engrossed in her telephone conversation that she hadn't even noticed her father poke his head in to check on her. He'd heard everything – that she hated the idea of her mother running for the House; she hated that Audrey got all the attention with her fits; that she was afraid of sharing her feelings.

Josh quickly backed away from Katie's door as he heard her say goodbye to Huck. Poor girl – she missed Huck and Molly so badly. Now she had this to deal with on top of all that and her new problem with self-confidence. He walked back to the kitchen table where Donna was nursing a glass of wine in contemplation of this new situation they had on their hands. She looked up at him lovingly but with concern mixed in too.

"Donna…" He sat down at the head of the table, to his wife's right.

"I don't know if I should do this, Josh." She cut him off, assuming he was going to talk her into it.

"Yeah, about that." He began, unsure of how to talk to her about what he'd just witnessed. "I think you should still run, but I need to tell you something."

Donna suddenly looked very vexed again as she waited for Josh to explain.

"I just kind of overheard a conversation. Katie was on the phone with Huck Ziegler, and she was talking about how she didn't like the idea of you running, and that she was sick of Audrey and her little tantrums. And, uh…."

"There's more?" Donna whispered, already upset by the news.

"And she doesn't feel like she can express her feelings." Josh managed to get it out, and watched his wife's face closely for any hint as to how she was taking it. She looked hurt and worried, like he'd predicted. They worked hard to raise honest, hard-working, self-confident girls, and everything she'd just heard pretty much crumbled that vision.

"She can't express her feelings?" She repeated.

"She doesn't feel comfortable doing so. I think it's probably, in large part, due to Audrey's personality. She's kind of the alpha chick in this household, unfortunately."

"Yeah. How did we let this happen? She's been feeling so alone all this time and she hasn't said anything?"

Donna was looking tearful, so Josh got up and squeezed into the chair with her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He kissed her on the cheek and nestled his head next to hers. Normally responsive with at least a touch or a movement, Donna just stared blankly ahead.

"God, Josh. Is it really this bad? How haven't I noticed?"

Josh rubbed her arm, trying to soothe her, but he was just as puzzled as she was. It broke his heart to think that their daughter couldn't be honest with them and even hid her emotions from them.

"She shields herself so well. I don't think you weren't an attentive mother, Donna, if that's what you're thinking. We can't read her mind."

"Are we not open enough with her? She doesn't feel comfortable around us."

"Well, she thirteen years old, Donna. She may not be coming to us with everything now." Josh couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. They were growing up, and he was about the last person to accept the fact that he wasn't number one in their lives anymore. Josh could tell that hit Donna like a ton of bricks.

"I know, baby." He kissed her again and squeezed her tight. Having kids was the most rewarding and agonizing thing that had ever happened to him, both at the same time.

"We need to go talk to her, Josh." Donna suddenly felt steeled in her resolve to confront these feelings her daughter had.

"Maybe we shouldn't tonight, honey." Josh suggested. "She's still pretty upset, and I don't know if she'll be mad at me for listening in on her phone call."

Donna started to get up and Josh let her, rising with her, but keeping his hands on her.

"No, we need to do it now. We need to tell her it's okay. I don't want her going to bed feeling this alone." She said frantically, still tearful.

Josh still didn't think it was a good idea, given his wife's current emotional state. He didn't want her to say anything she might want to take back later.

"Donna, are you sure? Are you really okay?" Josh questioned her as she began to walk towards Katie's room. He was at her heels, still unsure of the confrontation.

"Yes. I need to do this."

"Okay." Josh figured he shouldn't mess with an upset mother trying to get to her child. He held back a second and waited as he saw Donna disappear into Katie's room, leaving the door open. As Josh stood there, his mind wandered to Audrey. He hadn't expected her to be so quiet and obedient. She was probably listening to her personal CD player with her headphones on, so she wouldn't make any audible noise. Josh decided to go check on her and prepared himself for another confrontation. Audrey was definitely a fighter.

Josh knocked on her door, waiting for her to tell him to come in. When he didn't hear an answer, he knocked a little louder.

"Audrey? It's dad. Can I come in?"

Still no response. Josh was sure she was probably jamming away with her headphones on, unable to hear him calling. He pushed the door open and his eyes fell upon an empty room.

"Audrey? Where are you?" He called. Josh stepped into the room and looked in her closet. Tons of clothes scattered around, but no Audrey. He frantically searched the other corners and crevices and finally concluded she'd snuck out of her room.

"Donna!" He yelled from the middle of the room at the edge of her bed.

Donna reluctantly got up from Katie's bed where they were just beginning to start their conversation when she heard her husband bellowing. Something was wrong. She could tell by his tone.

"What is it?" She reached the doorway.

"Audrey's gone."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Donna sighed out heavily in annoyance and shook her head in frustration at the news that one of her twin daughters had disappeared from her bedroom. They were of course worried about her safety as parents, but with her it always turned out to be something selfish and stupid that Audrey threw a tantrum about. She'd been like this ever since she was a little girl. If Audrey wasn't happy, everyone knew about it, now matter how minor the problem was. And she couldn't have picked a worse time to throw a temper tantrum than now. Donna desperately needed her daughters' support, and now Katie desperately needed her mother for support.

Both parents knew instinctively and from experience exactly where Audrey would be with a 99.9 guarantee. She was probably at her best friend, Ella's house. Ella had been friends with both girls since they met in preschool at the age of three. Audrey and Ella had grown especially close over the years, and both girls first ran to each other in times of need, or in this case, to bitch and moan about her life.

"Well, she's probably at the Parkers'." Donna said out loud, echoing both of their inferences.

"Yeah. Do you think she would be there by now? She'd only been left in her room for about 20 minutes." Josh asked.

Donna gave him a look that caused him to withdraw his question.

"Okay, so she probably bolted right after I closed the door." Josh reasoned.

Audrey ran where she knew she would always get caught – at Ella's house. She was trying to prove a point and annoy them, not run away. Audrey wasn't that stupid – she knew that if she ever really ran away, her parents would have the police all over it, and it would be a media nightmare. Audrey liked to test her boundaries and assert herself and her place in this family.

"I'm going over there now. Are you coming too?" Josh fished his keys out of his workbag and found the one to their Jeep Grand Cherokee.

"Yes, of course I'm coming." Donna said assertively. "But Josh, you know she just wants attention, and we're not going to give it to her, right? She's not the boss."

"Donna…"

"Josh, you can't chew her to pieces. That's what she wants. She wants to know that she pissed us off and that me running for office really bothers her. Audrey's only concerned about herself, like you said before. We don't say a word in the car…" She was cut off.

"You expect me to let her get away with this crap?"

"Of course not, Josh! We lay down the law when she gets back quickly and calmly, and then we leave her alone. She gets no attention for this."

"Okay, fine." Josh agreed, though an outsider could tell the parental unit didn't agree on this one.

Josh and Donna had been struggling lately about how they should handle Audrey and all her uprisings. On one hand, they were both pissed, hurt, and angry with her, but they also knew she was trying to get their attention in the wrong way by acting up. They didn't want to reward that behavior, but she also needed to know her behavior was unacceptable. Josh and Donna were struggling with the balance.

Caught up in the current mini-crisis, they had pretty much forgotten about their well-behaved daughter who was waiting patiently for her mother to return in the next room. Donna had sleepless nights about whether they were damaging Katie because they had to give so much attention to Audrey. Katie was so quiet and easygoing that she often just blended in. It was true – Audrey got all the attention in this household. Josh and Donna didn't ignore her on purpose – they were always just so busy with Audrey. It wasn't fair, and Donna knew this especially.

They were almost to the door, when Donna mentally kicked herself for leaving Katie unaware and waiting.

"Shit. Hold on, Josh." She walked back down the hall to Katie's room where she had begun to read a book quietly.

"Katie, baby, I'm so sorry." Donna started as she sat down on her bed. "Audrey ran off again, so we're going to get her at the Parkers'. We'll be back as soon as possible, okay?" Donna reached out to touch Katie on the cheek, but she moved her head ever-so-slightly to let Donna know her comfort was not welcome. Katie stared ahead to her book, waiting for her mother to get the hint and leave. Donna's heart dropped at this gesture and she wanted to break down in tears right then and hold Katie in her arms forever. It wasn't fair. She felt a sudden strong disliking for Audrey for making her abandon Katie like this, but she had to go. Audrey would never go with just Josh, and she couldn't leave them alone together. Josh would most definitely give her the yelling-at of a lifetime if Donna wasn't there to calm him.

Donna retrieved her hand slowly.

"Okay." She swallowed uncomfortably. "We'll be back soon. I love you."

Katie didn't say anything and waited for her mother to leave. As soon as the door had closed, Katie slowly placed the book face-down on her stomach and just stared up at her ceiling for a few moments, searching for nothing and everything at the same time. All of her anger towards Audrey started to boil up. Her mother had just been here, and now she was alone again, all because of Audrey and her self-involvement. Katie threw her book across the room and it hit her dresser drawers with a loud thud moments later. She started to sob and her body soon began to shake in loneliness and hurt. Why was she just so mean to her mother? She was just trying to help. Katie curled up on her bed and listened to her crying echoing throughout the empty house.

_This is for all you girls about thirteen_

_High school can be so rough,_

_Can be so mean_

_Hold on to,_

_On to your innocence_

_Stand your ground_

_When everybody's giving in_

_This one's for the girls_

_This one's for the girls_

_Who've ever had a broken heart_

_Who've wished upon a shooting star_

_You're beautiful the way you are_

_This one's for the girls_

_Who love without holding back_

_Who dream with everything they have_

_All around the world_

_This one's for the girls_

Donna and Josh walked up the steps to John and Carol Parker's modest suburban home moments later, hoping to get this over with soon. They'd been here countless times to retrieve Audrey, in both bad times like this and the good. The Parkers had also been to their house for the same reasons. Josh knocked on the door and waited for a reply. It was now almost eleven o'clock on a school night, and they were just now getting to the Parkers'. They were sure they didn't appreciate the unexpected guest and now all three girls would probably be tired tomorrow at school.

John answered the door with an annoyed look on his face. John was tough as nails and the Lymans could tell easily that he wasn't thrilled about Audrey's little intrusion.

"Mr. Parker, we're so sorry to bother you." Donna began.

"She's here." John interrupted with an edge to his voice, opening the door a little wider to let them in. Josh and Donna stepped in and immediately began looking around the room for their daughter.

"She snuck in through Ella's window." John informed them. "She's still in there."

"Donna? Josh? Is that you?" They heard a grown female's voice call from the kitchen.

"Carol, just stay in there and finish up. I'll handle this." John said with command in his voice. Carol said nothing back and they assumed she continued working like he told her to. The Parkers' relationship had always been an unsteady one, and John had always made Josh and Donna nervous. He was so domineering towards both his wife and their only child, Ella. They'd even expected abuse for years, seeing bruises on Ella from time to time, but they'd all always denied it.

"I'll go get her." John told them, but they both followed him down the hall to Ella's bedroom. John didn't knock and just barged into the room, making both girls visibly jump.

"Audrey, your parents are here." He announced, ready to get her out of the house and go to bed himself. The girls were playing a card game, not something that someone 'so upset' would be doing. From what Josh and Donna could tell, she seemed just fine. Just another one of her attention-getting tactics.

"Come on, Audrey, let's go." Donna told her, clapping her hands together. "The Parkers are ready for bed, I'm sure, and we've got work and school in the morning."

"I'm not going. I'm staying here." She said, point black, slamming a card down on the pile.

Mr. Parker would handle this part.

"Audrey Lyman, it is a school night and you are most definitely not welcome to stay overnight. Do what your mom said and go." He pointed to Ella's bedroom door with his thumb, and then his hand joined his other on each hip.

Audrey, sighed, feeling defeated. She was getting tired herself and though she didn't care who she pissed off most of the time, she didn't want to piss off Ella's dad. He was scary. Audrey let out a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes, slamming the rest of her cards down on the floor.

"Fine." She said, getting up with attitude. She walked right past her parents without making eye contact and headed for the door.

"Bye, Audrey!" Ella called, feeling a little used at her friend's abrupt departure.

Josh and Donna followed Audrey out of the room and Mr. Parker was close behind them. Audrey went straight out the front door and proceeded to wait by the Jeep while her parents mopped up the mess she'd caused.

"Again, Mr. Parker, I'm so sorry that Audrey caused all this trouble. She's really upset about some news we told her tonight, but of course that's no excuse." Donna explained.

"Thanks for your help, John." Josh said as he grabbed the doorknob, ready to get out of there. "Bye, Carol!" He acknowledged her even though her husband wouldn't. They heard a faint goodbye from the kitchen and then left.

Audrey was leaning against the car chewing on her thumbnail. She didn't know why she always acted this way. Her parents paid enough attention to her, but she just always wanted more, and this is how she got it. Her feelings were always so dichotomous at times like this – she of course didn't like being in trouble, but she liked that all their energy was focused on her.

Instead of instantly reprimanding her like they normally did, her parents wordlessly got into the car and she heard her dad start the engine. Surprised, Audrey decided she better get in. Why hadn't they bitten her head off yet? She decided not to put her seat belt on so they'd at least have to tell her to do that, but as they pulled out of the driveway, they still said nothing. The short trip home continued uneventfully and silently. When they finally parked in the driveway and her parents got out, Audrey finally spoke up in disappointment.

"Don't you want to know why I ran away?" She asked them with a little bit of attitude as her front.

They both finally turned to look at her as they made their way to the garage door.

"No, not really." Josh said calmly. "You've done it so many times, we've kind of learned to just ignore it. It's usually something pretty trivial." He opened the door and walked into their home before she had the time to respond. Donna followed closely behind her and said nothing. Audrey was a little confused and even angry at their dismissiveness. She'd have to turn up the heat.

"I ran away because you're both being so selfish about this family!" She yelled as she stepped in and slammed the door behind her. Josh and Donna stopped in the hallway and turned around to look at her. "You never asked me what I thought about mom running for election. You decided before you asked me and didn't care what I thought! This is going to ruin my life! All the kids at school will be asking me about it and I'll have to leave home to go on your stupid campaign trail and the stupid bus just like with dad. I can't believe they actually elected you, dad. They won't be stupid enough to elect mom too."

Josh finally snapped, hearing someone, even if it was his own daughter, bad-mouthing his wife. Donna most definitely did not deserve that, especially from her own flesh and blood. Before Donna could stop in, he had Audrey by the upper arm and was marching her towards her bedroom. Once they were both in, he slammed the door shut and started in on her.

Josh angrily let go of her arm and Audrey grasped it with her own hand where his grip had left red marks.

"Nobody talks to MY WIFE that way! Nobody!" He boomed. "I have never seen anyone act so selfishly and heartlessly in my life! You should be ashamed of yourself, Audrey, because I am! Your mother has been worried sick the last few days about whether she should run or not and took me a long time to build her up to this just to have you act like a spoiled five-year-old and bring her down! Do you have any concern for anyone but yourself?" He could feel his heart about ready to beat out of his chest. When she didn't say anything, only stared at the ground, he yelled even louder. "Answer me!"

Audrey shifted her stance uncomfortably and finally looked up at him. She'd never seen him this angry in his life. Audrey felt like she'd definitely overstepped a boundary here, and for once, she _was_ ashamed of herself.

"No." She answered quietly.

"Yeah, that's been showing a lot lately." He said, a little quieter. "Your mother deserves to do this more than you know, Audrey. You're not the only person in this world who needs her. She can and will do a lot of good in this world, and she doesn't need you second-guessing her."

Josh stared at her for a few moments as he slowly started to talk himself back down. She's thirteen years old, Josh, she's not your political opponent. He immediately felt bad for yelling at her like that, but she definitely needed a wake-up call.

"Audrey, I know this is hard. It will be hard for all of us both physically and emotionally, but this is what your mom wants, and we will support her. Can you do that?"

Audrey pondered this request for a few moments and finally nodded.

"Good. You have school tomorrow, so you need to get to bed. We'll talk about your punishment more tomorrow. You really put the Parkers in a hard spot, Audrey, barging in at 11:00 at night."

"I know." She said quietly, staring down at the floor. Right now, she seemed more like Katie, staying quiet and not making eye contact.

"Alright." He took a step towards her. "I love you, Audrey. Good night." He kissed her on the forehead and then left the room, closing it quietly this time.

As Josh closed the door, he looked across the hall to Katie's room, where he could see Donna sitting on their daughter's bed. From what he could see, Katie was fast asleep already. As Josh stepped into the doorway, Donna looked up and he could see tears in her eyes. Katie desperately needed her mother tonight, and she was taken away when she was needed most. Josh could tell it was killing his wife. He carefully walked over to Katie's bed and knelt down next to his wife, gently placing his hand on her back.

"Donna, honey, I'm so sorry we had to leave. But we needed to deal with Audrey." He said as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake up Katie.

Donna sniffled and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I know. I just feel….you know." She said simply.

"I know. It's hard, but you can talk to her tomorrow. Let's go to bed, okay?"

Donna looked back down at the sleeping Katie, who she could tell had cried herself to sleep. Her lips were in a frown the way they always were when she went to bed angry or upset. Her tanned arms were wrapped around the teddy bear she'd had since she was a baby, offering her the comfort that Donna had failed to give her earlier.

"Come on." Josh urged as he stood up and took her hand. He gave her arm a gentle tug, pulling her to her feet reluctantly. With his hand at the small of her back, Josh led his wife out of the room, turning the light off and gently shutting the door.

Once they were out of the room, Donna was sniffling again, feeling like she had once again abandoned Katie. She wanted so badly to wake her up to tell her that her Momma was back. She wanted to lay there with her, holding Katie in her arms and telling her how much she loved her and that she could tell them anything, even if it hurt to hear. But she couldn't – she just watched her angel sleep, off in a better, less stressful place for the time being; a place free of elections and twin sisters, and all the stresses of being a new adolescent.

"Hey, come here." Josh said, holding out his arms. Donna responded quickly and buried her head in his shoulder and started sobbing. "It's okay, Donna. We can't be everywhere at the same time."

"I know, but she doesn't deserve to always be second." She looked at him. "She's the most giving, caring person I know, and Audrey always gets our attention because she's always acting up. How does that make her feel? I'm such an awful mother, Josh." She put her head back on his shoulder.

Josh quickly retrieved her head with his hands and held it where he could look her in the eyes.

"Donnatella Lyman, don't you ever say that." He looked at her seriously, but with so much care. "They're both going through a rough time right now, and we've been trying our best to deal with it, and there will be times when it doesn't seem fair." He moved his hands to her shoulders when he saw her face soften a little. "Yes, Audrey is being a selfish pain in the ass right now, but we'll get through it. And Katie will get through this stage too. We just have to be there and be patient."

Donna nodded and had since put her arms around his waist. They began to sway back and forth to an unheard rhythm, but they were perfectly in sync. Josh dropped his left hand to her hip and then took her left hand in his right. He rested his cheek against hers and nuzzled lovingly before giving her a gentle, caring kiss on the cheek. He began humming their favorite song quietly to her. After a few seconds, she joined in with him and they sang the words together in their minds.

_It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart_

_Without saying a word, you can light up the dark_

_Try as I may, I could never explain_

_What I hear when you don't say a thing_

_The smile on your face lets me know that you need me_

_There's a truth in your eyes _

_Saying you'll never leave me_

_The touch of your hand says you'll catch me _

_Whenever I fall_

_You say it best when you say nothing at all_

_All day long I can hear people talking about_

_But when you hold me near_

_You drown out the crowd_

_Oh, Mr. Webster could never define_

_What's being said between your heart and mine_

_The smile on your face lets me know that you need me_

_There's a truth in your eyes_

_Saying you'll never leave me_

_The touch of your hand says you'll catch me_

_Whenever I fall_

_You say it best when you say nothing at all_

The married couple of seventeen years slowly rocked to each other's gentle voices, and continued to move long after the song had ended. After a while, they stopped and just held onto each other silently. Josh finally pulled back a little bit and kissed Donna softly and soundly on her soft, down turned lips. She at last gave him a small hint of a smile and he mirrored her, seeing she was okay.

"Let's go to bed, okay?" Josh whispered.

"Okay." She whispered back. After a decidedly long day, they slowly walked back to their bedroom hand and hand and quickly drifted off into a much-deserved sleep.

…TBC….

Thanks for reading! I love reviews – please write: )


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Kaitlyn Lyman watched in certain disgust as her twin sister walked up to Ms. Lewis's desk and handed her the letter she had bullshitted last night after her little temper tantrum with her mother's forged signature. Audrey had a knack for sweet-talking her way out of trouble with people who didn't know her and her ways. Luckily, Ms. Lewis seemed to be a no-nonsense woman, but Audrey had a way with words. She was already a master politician, her father said, at far too tender of an age. No doubt, she had rambled on in her letter about her poor choice and how it was disrespectful and how she was glad that she had Ms. Lewis as a teacher this year. Hopefully, this teacher wouldn't be blind-sighted like so many others had been.

"Thank you, Audrey." She told the smiling student as she accepted the letter. "I hope we can start over today on the right foot."

"Yes, Ms. Lewis. I'm sure we can. And I apologize for my rudeness yesterday. I guess my mind was still on summer vacation." Audrey fibbed. Katie roller her eyes and started flipping through her science textbook.

"I appreciate your apology. You may sit down."

Kiss-ass, Katie thought to herself. Her sister was so incredibly insincere it made her sick. She just wanted to get through this last period of the day and go home and lock herself in her room again.

After her parents had left to go find Audrey at her usual hiding place the night before, her best friend, Molly Ziegler, had finally called her back after softball practice. Molly always knew exactly what to say to make her feel better, like a big sister. She'd been crying for about ten minutes when she heard the phone ring, like a call that saved her. Molly's relationship with her brother had never turned as bad as the Lymans' was currently, but she could definitely understand where she was coming from. Being a twin was a difficult thing – you were always one half of a set. She knew what it was like to love someone so much but sometimes hate them at the same time. Their twins were their best friends, but they also caused each other the most hurt.

Finally, the school day was over at 3:00. The bell was music to everyone's ears, especially Katie's. She saw many of her peers still happily greeting each other in the hallway, thrilled to see each other after a long summer vacation. Katie didn't really have many close friends at school. She kept to herself most of the time. Audrey had always been her best friend and that's all she ever needed, but now it was just different.

Their mother picked them up once again after school. She was in a good mood and surprised them by saying that she wouldn't just be dropping them off at home and then returning to work today.

"We're treating ourselves today, girls." Donna announced as she put her sunglasses back down over her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Audrey asked.

"We're going to Vigo's."

"Vigo's? Really!" Audrey exclaimed. "Yes!"

Katie smiled and giggled a little to herself. Vigo's was their favorite place to go, just the three of them. It was a spa where they always went to relax after a really stressful day, week, or even month. They called it their "girly girl" time – a time only for the three females of the household, not that Josh would ever want to go along with them.

"A girl's gotta take care of herself." Donna told them. She thought going to Vigo's would be a great idea with all the stress going on in the house since yesterday. Audrey and Katie were both still upset about her decision to run for the House. Maybe this would distract them and put them in a more forgiving mood. Donna knew this would be really hard on them, but Josh had convinced her she needed to do this for herself. She needed to do this for her girls. They needed to know that females were just as capable as males, something they had tried to drill into them since conception.

Both Audrey and Katie were secretly really excited to be spending time with their mother alone. Donna could tell they were happy, but the girls rarely got to have a girl's afternoon out with their mom and knew that soon that time would become even more scarce.

As they entered Vigo's spa, Vigo himself greeted them from the front counter. He was the owner and he was French and he was bubbly.

"Ah! Ze Lyman vwomen are back!" He exclaimed in his French accent as he stood up and walked around the counter. As Donna approached, they gave each other air kisses on both cheeks.

"Good afternoon, Vigo. It's so great to see you again." She smiled.

"It has been too long, yes?" He put his hand to his mouth like the mentioned act was forbidden. His attention then turned to the two girls standing just behind Donna. "Zese are not your twins, are zey? Zey are much too grown up!"

That earned a smile from both girls. They'd been coming here with their mother since they were about ten years old and knew Vigo well. He stepped around Donna and kissed each girl on the hand.

"Hello, Vigo." They both said.

"Vwat will it be today? Full body massage? Pedicure?"

Donna looked at her girls.

"I think we'll all get a massage and get our nails done. Is that okay, girls?"

"Yeah." They both agreed.

"Right zis way, Lymans!" He signaled towards a hallway flamboyantly, accenting the second syllable of Lyman instead of the first. "Surrender to the feel of a French massage, yes?" He joked.

Donna giggled and looked back at her daughters who were following close behind. Vigo was such a riot and he was just what they needed right now. He led them into a room with three massage tables, the room they were normally lead to during their girly girl outings to Vigo's Spa.

"Go ahead and get comfortable and vwe vwill be right with you, yes?" He told them, or asked them, or whatever.

"Thank you, Vigo." Donna told him as she took off her jacket.

"I get you best masseuses!" He promised them as he disappeared to leave them to change. The three Lymans looked at each other and giggled at Vigo's ability to lighten up any situation. They all disappeared behind separate curtains to change into generously big towels and all finally layed down on their respective beds, ready to be spoiled. Soon, there was a knock at the door and three female masseuses came in. They quickly got to work and soon the silent room was replaced with sounds only produced during total relaxation as stress left their minds and muscles.

"Momma?" Katie finally said as her masseuse kneaded her lower back.

"Yeah, honey?" Donna's eyes opened at her daughter's voice.

"What did daddy say when you told him you wanted to run?"

Donna thought back to the night not even a week ago when she'd first brought it up to her husband. After his initial shock, he had been nothing but supportive. Her big teddy bear.

"Well, he was a little surprised, but he was right there with me from the beginning. He's been so supportive."

Katie lay silent for a few moments, taking the information in. Her dad was easily freaked out and he handled it fine. Why didn't she? Dumbass.

"Katie, don't think he wasn't just as surprised as you were." Donna told her, as if she'd just read her daughter's mind. "It's okay to be a little scared. He's flipping out, though of course he'd never admit it. You know dad."

"How does he expect us not to flip out then?" Audrey jumped in. Donna turned her head around to look at Audrey to her right.

"Audrey, you know how protective he is of all of us. He just doesn't want me to get hurt. It's okay to express your feelings, but in a polite way." Donna was speaking more to her other daughter than she was to Audrey. Donna wanted Katie to know that she could express her feelings without being as blunt as her twin. After growing up around Audrey, Donna worried that Katie thought expressing her feelings meant blowing up or being bratty like her sister. It didn't have to be that way. Sharing feelings should an easier and open cause.

After a few more moments of silence, Audrey spoke again.

"I'm sorry I was such an ass yesterday, mom." She confessed quietly. That caused Katie to lift her head up a little, trying to read her sister's sincerity. She couldn't tell if she was being honest or just trying to get on mom's good side so she'd convince dad not to be too hard on her. Donna was apparently doing the same thing, as she lay quietly, pondering her child's apology.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Donna finally said, though she still hadn't totally let her off the hook. She'd been pretty mean yesterday, and she was pretty sure Josh wouldn't let her off so easily.

Their massages continued until their thirty minutes each was up. Next, they got their nails done together in another room. They each felt thoroughly rejuvenated after their time at the spa. Donna hoped Josh wouldn't get too mad at the bill, but they didn't do this very often. Audrey and Katie both in a good mood should be convincing enough for him that it was money well spent. He was waiting at the kitchen bar reading a political magazine when the three most important women in his life walked in. Josh immediately pushed the magazine aside as they walked into the kitchen.

"Hello, my lovely ladies. How are we today?" He asked them cheerfully. Josh had heard them chatting happily as they entered the house, so he assumed their moods had improved dramatically since yesterday.

Donna walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his neck, kissing him rather passionately but shortly, then dropping her workbag to the floor.

"Well, hello to you too." He remarked. His attention then turned to his two girls, both smiling at the same time uncharacteristically. "And how are my little devils?" He joked, eyeing them both.

Katie followed her mother's lead and hugged her father warmly, his arms going around her also, patting her on the back.

"Feeling better?" He whispered.

Katie simply nodded into his shoulder and squeezed him tight one last time before pulling away. Josh gave her a wink as she looked at him after releasing from the embrace. Audrey hung back on the other side of the bar, not knowing exactly how to act. The last time she'd seen her dad, she'd acted like a total brat and he'd snapped at her. Audrey knew she'd gone overboard and was sorry for it, but wouldn't admit it to him. Josh wasn't sure how to act, either, but he took a stab in the dark.

"How was your day, Audrey?"

"Fine. Yours?"

"Not too bad." He said. He watched her for a moment, seeing that she was uncomfortable. She always acted like that when she was sorry or ashamed and didn't want to admit it. Audrey was just as stubborn as he was. The one trait she had to inherit…

Josh decided not to bring last night up just yet. They all seemed to be in a relatively good mood and he wasn't going to be the big bad guy ruining their "girly girl" good day.

"Well, I was about to start dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs sound okay?" Josh asked, not really caring if they didn't like the sound of it. He was cooking and that was that.

Donna made a funny face, as if to say, 'well, I guess that'll have to do'.

"What was that, Donna?" he asked, getting up and immediately placing his hands in 'tickle position', as they had come to refer to it. He moved his fingers in the air and made her squeal.

"Your meatballs suck, Josh." She said boldly, still smiling, but stepping back in defense mode.

"Hey, that's slander." Josh warned her. "I could have you sued."

"You'd sue your own wife? Jackass. Where did you go to school again?"

"Alright, that's it." Josh announced as he lurched forward and started to tickle his wife. She didn't put up much of a fight as he'd suspected and soon they were a pile on the floor.

Katie and Audrey had been watching with worried grins on their faces the entire time and exchanged disgusted glances as they hit the floor.

"Get a room!" Audrey told them, and she turned to leave.

A little later on, Donna had gone to Katie's room and Josh was busy preparing the meatballs. Audrey came out of her room once she'd heard that her parents' banter was over. She walked into the kitchen and went over to one of the cupboards.

Josh glanced back from what he was doing to see what she was doing.

"I hope you're not getting a snack, because these meatballs are the best in town, despite what your mother says."

"I'm just getting a drink, dad." Audrey told him as she began to pour herself some orange juice. When she was done, she hopped up on the counter next to wear her dad was preparing the meatballs and brought her legs up into a pretzel-style position.

"Great, now we'll have all your foot germs mixed in with the food and your mom will never let me hear the end of it." Josh joked.

Audrey smacked him on the side of the head and took a sip of her drink.

"So, dad." Audrey started. "Do you really think that mom could win?" She asked. This was the first time she'd spoken of her mom and the election sounding civil, so Josh glanced over to check her expression. She seemed serious enough.

"I think she's a great candidate, Audrey. I definitely think she has a great chance at winning. There's not going to be an incumbent, so she won't have to worry about beating someone who's already been there, done that."

Audrey nodded and took a sip out of her cup again, but didn't say anything. She was still debating in her mind whether this was a good idea or not. Josh began to chop the onions that his was going to add next.

"But dad, I really am upset about having to ride the bus." She said. "It's not even a school bus. It would be the D.C. public busses. Do you know what kind of creeps ride those things?"

There was Audrey back again, concerned about the little things. Josh could see she was making an effort to be supportive, though, so he'd joke around with her about it. The fumes from the onions were starting to get to his eyes.

Josh put his thumb and pointer finger at the bridge of his nose, as if he were really upset. Audrey thought she'd hit a nerve and started to back up.

"Dad, I don't mean to sound…"

"Audrey, I've been losing sleep over that, too…" He started with a mock-upset voice. Josh finally looked over at his daughter with tears in his eyes, caused by the onion fumes. Audrey smiled and watched him continue.

"I mean, a whole fifteen-minute ride with semi-questionable people after a grueling seven hour school day, it's just….It's just cruel, Audrey, I know." He wiped his eyes and acted as if he was bawling.

Audrey finally laughed and put a hand to her forehead, realizing how silly she'd sounded moments ago.

"Dad, you don't understand how creepy they are!" She laughed. "And they smell funny too."

"Oh, the humanity!" He cried.

"Fine, dad. I'll shut up. I see I'm not getting any pity."

"You're darn right, you're not." He said, wiping the remaining moisture from his eyes. He sighed out, "If it bothers you that much, I'm sure we could work something out with one of your classmates or someone else. Or just hitchhike. I hear that's the new fad these days."

"Thanks, dad." She said at the suggestion.

"Now, let's talk about last night." He let the conversation turn serious. "Why did you feel it necessary to sneak out and go to Ella's house?" Josh looked at her questioningly.

Audrey sighed, knowing all along this conversation was coming, but still dreading it.

"I don't know. I just needed to get away. I get really mad sometimes and I just need out."

"I told you to stay in your room, Audrey, so you would cool down. Is that not alone enough, because that was the point."

"No." She simply stated, examining a small scar on her leg intently.

Josh could see she was being serious and sought to dig up more.

"Why is it not enough?" He was still working at the ground beef in a bowl, keeping himself busy.

Audrey looked away, as if to ask the refrigerator what her answer would be.

"I don't know, dad." She said honestly. "I really don't know. I just needed to leave."

"Audrey, you know that's not acceptable. It's dangerous, sweetheart." He said, stopping what he was doing and turning in her direction.

"I know." She confessed. She didn't bring up the fact that they always knew exactly where she was going when she'd disappeared from her room.

"Can you not come talk to us? If something is bothering you that much?" Josh put his hand on his hip. He was really concerned that they be able to talk to him and Donna at this age. They'd both of course heard of the horrors of the teen years from friends, family, and strangers, and had been anticipating problems, especially with Audrey. Being open and honest with each other was something they'd always prided themselves on. They needed to be able to talk about it.

"I guess I could." Audrey mumbled, sounding insincere. Josh looked down, knowing she was just saying that to make him happy.

"Audrey, I know you're not going to want to come to us with a lot of your problems during this stage of your life, but you really need to talk to us. I don't mean yelling at us and using profanity, but I mean real talking. Calmly, like adults. Can you do that?"

Audrey nodded, and she seemed to be really trying.

"Okay." Josh acknowledged.

"Now, you really need to call or go visit the Parkers to apologize for last night. That was really rude."

"I will."

"Good. Let's not let this happen again, okay?" He pleaded and patted her on the knee.

"Alright." She hopped down from the counter. "I'm gonna go start on my homework."

"Good girl." He kissed her head as he brought her into a rare hug. Josh was surprised she'd actually let him hug her, so he had a lot of hope that he'd actually gotten through to her.

Back in Katie's room, Donna was trying to rekindle the conversation she'd begun with her daughter last night before they were interrupted by the incident with Audrey. Donna hoped that their leisurely afternoon had helped with Katie's mood and that she would open up to her. They sat again on her bed, where she again had her nose stuck in a book. Katie read a lot, especially when something was bothering her. It was her escape from whatever problem she was facing.

"How was your day at school today?" Donna began as she gently removed the book from Katie's hands and placed it on the bedside table. Katie was laying down on her bed with her feet scooted up close to her bottom with Donna sitting right next to them. Donna brought a hand up and pushed gently on her knees to get her to straighten them so she could see her face. Katie reluctantly did so.

"It was school." Katie said, examining her fingernails. Her mom had told her last night that she needed to talk to her about something very important when she had to leave.

"Do you like your teachers?"

"They're okay." She didn't want to elaborate at all.

"Okay." Donna nodded, getting the hint that she wasn't in the mood to talk about school. "Katie, we were about to talk about something yesterday when we were interrupted, but I'd like to talk about it now if that's okay."

Katie nodded, even though she wasn't in the mood. She shouldn't ever say no to her mom when she wanted to talk.

"Good. I know you're a little uneasy about me running for office, and I hope that we can talk about whatever feelings you're having. Are you telling me everything?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seem upset, Katie, but you're not telling me about it." Donna looked down at her with concern. "Audrey always does, of course, but I want to make sure that you tell me what you're thinking."

"You want to know what I'm thinking?"

"Of course, honey." Katie's answer scared her. Did she really debate whether she and Josh wanted to hear what she had to say?

"Well…" She began, and paused for several seconds. "I guess it's just…I don't know. I just, it just upset me a little."

"Yeah?"

Katie nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"Why does it upset you?" Donna prompted her. Most of the time, Katie seemed to need a little coaxing to express herself.

"Because I think my life would change a lot. Dad isn't home a whole lot, you know? What will it be like with both of you gone?"

"Well, I'm concerned about that too." Donna told her, surprising her daughter. "That's one of the reasons I've waited this long to run. I've always wanted to run for office, but I want to be here for you and Audrey."

"Really?" Katie hadn't thought about this. She knew that her mom had been her father's assistant when they were both working at the White House years ago. Of course she'd want to run for office. But she and Audrey had been holding her back.

"Yep. But I think that you and Audrey, well, you at least, are responsible enough to be home by yourself. What do you think?"

"I guess we are. I am." She quickly corrected herself.

"And you don't always have to stay at home. You can be out with friends after school as long as you get your homework done. And you can invite one or two people over. But we'll have to keep our eye on Audrey, won't we?"

"Yeah. That's what I'm worried about."

"Dad and I will have a nice long talk with her." Donna reassured her daughter. "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"When will we spend time together?"

Donna was so happy that at least one of her daughters still wanted to be around her and liked doing so.

"Dad and I will try to work out of schedules so at least one of us is home by five every night. It may not always work out like that, but that's our plan."

"Okay." Katie finally said. Donna could tell by her facial expressions that she was okay now. Her face had opened up and she looked placid. "It's okay with me, then."

Donna almost wanted to cry.

"Thank you, sweetheart." She reached down to touch her cheek like she had last night, and this time Katie let her. Katie reached up and put her hand over her mother's, letting her know that it was really okay.

"I'll go check to see how dinner is coming." Donna told her daughter, patting her arm. She smiled at Katie as she got up, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now she had one of her daughters behind her at least. Audrey would be a totally different story. She'd deal with that later, but not now.

Donna joined her husband in the kitchen. Josh looked up with an evil glare from tending to his meatballs. He still hadn't forgiven her for the comments she made earlier.

"The shitty meatballs are still simmering." He announced. Josh knew it was safe to joke around with Donna based on the huge smile on her face as she emerged from Katie's room. Katie was the easy one to get to open up and talk. He'd gotten somewhere with Audrey, but she was a pistol and they never really knew what she was thinking.

"You have great balls, Josh." Donna told him.

Josh laughed out loud as he took her into his arms.

"Do I really?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, you do." Donna jabbed back.

"I've always known you've liked my balls."

They both were laughing with red faces now. Their laughter was soon interrupted by a knock at the front door.

"I'll get it." Donna tried to say over her giggling. Josh let her go and she walked to the front door. As she opened it, her eyes fell on Ella Parker, Audrey's best friend. She was crying.

"Ella, honey." Donna opened the door and her arms and Ella immediately fell into them. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" She asked into her hair.

Ella just sobbed for a few minutes, her body shaking.

"I don't want to go home. Dad's really mad."

TBC

Feedback is greatly appreciated and savored!


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

As always – thanks for reading and all your input. Your encouragement really keeps me going. Sorry for the delay – this was a difficult chapter to write, so please let me know what you think or any suggestions for improvement. I highly recommend downloading the song at the end of this chapter – Savage Garden "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" – it is a beautiful song. Thanks again for reading!

Pink – "Family Portrait"

_Momma, please stop crying_

_I can't stand the sound_

_Your pain is painful_

_And it's tearing me down_

_I hear glasses breaking_

_As I sit up in my bed_

_I told dad you didn't mean _

_Those nasty things you said_

_You fight about money_

_Bout me and my brother_

_And this I come home to_

_This is my shelter_

_It ain't easy growing up in World War III_

_Never knowing what love could be_

_You'll see I don't want love to destroy me_

_Like it has done my family_

_Can we work it out?_

_Can we be a family?_

_I promise I'll be better_

_Tell me, I'll do anything_

_Can we work it out?_

_Can we be a family?_

_I promise I'll be better_

_Daddy, please don't leave_

_Daddy, please stop yellin'_

_I can't stand the sound_

_Make momma stop crying_

_Cuz I need you around_

_My momma, she loves you_

_No matter what she says, it's true_

_I know that she hurts you,_

_But remember – I love you too_

_I ran away today_

_Ran from the noise, ran away_

_Don't wanna go back to that place_

_But don't have no choice, no way_

_Daddy, don't leave_

_You took my shining star_

_I'll be nicer; I'll be so much better_

_I won't spill the milk at dinner;_

_I'll be so much better;_

_I'll do everything right;_

_I'll be your little girl forever;_

_I'll go to sleep at night_

Donnatella Lyman continued to hold a sobbing Ella Parker in her arms in the entryway to their home. The crying had since caught Josh's attention also, who had slowly made his way over to see what all the commotion was about. When he saw Ella crouched over into his wife's shoulder, he silently nodded and went back to the living room to give them some privacy.

"Why was he mad, Ella?" Donna finally asked when she heard her cries soften. Her comment really concerned her, given the history of the Parker household. Donna and Josh were almost positive that John had physically abused Ella, but they'd never been able to get any of the family members to admit it. There were some odd family dynamics going on, and all the Lymans seemed to be able to do was be there for Ella.

"I spilled a bottle of my nail polish on the carpet." She sobbed.

"Ella, I don't think that's why he's mad." Donna reasoned with her, taking Ella's head into her hands and looking her in the eye. "That may have set him off, but he's not mad at you. Are your mom and dad having some problems?"

Ella nodded tearfully and then tucked her face back in to Donna's shoulder.

"Shhhhh. Let's go sit in the living room." Donna gently led Ella into the living room to sit down. Josh was still sitting in "The Chair", where he had gone to give them some privacy, but that seemed to now be thrown out the window. Seeing the damsel in distress, he quickly got up and joined them on the couch.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" He asked quietly.

Ella shook her head no, but didn't feel like explaining it again. She looked over to Donna for help.

"Her mom and dad seem to have had a fight, and she got caught in the middle of it." She looked at her husband over Ella's head, giving him a look that meant there was something else going on. Josh got the signal strong from Donna and gave a small nod.

"You know, Ella, a lot of times when Donna and I are fighting and Audrey does something wrong, I snap at her when I shouldn't. It's not her fault, but sometimes I build my emotions up and then Audrey is on the receiving end. I'm sure you've heard about this before."

Ella continued to sniffle, and her sobs were getting a little louder now.

"But you don't hit her." Ella said, sounding disgusted. She rolled her shirt sleeve up a little bit to show a brand new bruise just below her shoulder. Ella's body was shaking nervously, knowing she was revealing what they'd suspected all along. The Lymans had called child services before after seeing bruises on Ella's body, but she had never actually shown them and admitted her father had done it. Donna and Josh exchanged glances again.

"Ella, did your father hit you tonight?" Donna asked her calmly for clarification, now holding her hand.

"Y…Yes." She managed to get out before starting to cry again.

"Okay." Donna told her. Ella was crying much harder now, so she again took the girl into her arms. "It's okay. It's over now. You can stay with us tonight if you want to. We'll call your mom and tell her you're here."

"They don't know I left. I ran away. They're gonna be so mad at me." Donna felt Ella's body shudder at the thought.

"I think they'll just be worried about you. They'll be relieved that you're here and that you're okay." Donna tried to reassure her, but she wasn't as convinced as she sounded. John Parker had a very short temper and Donna didn't doubt he could easily get physically violent. Apparently Ella wasn't convinced either, though Donna tried her best in the next few minutes to calm her when she started crying again. Josh quietly got up from the couch and made his way to Audrey's room, where she was actually doing her homework with music playing softly in the background. She hadn't heard the knock at the front door now almost twenty minutes ago. Josh knocked on her door and she told him to come in.

"Whatcha working on?" He sat on her desk chair and looked down to where she was working on her floor.

"Biology." She finished writing an answer and then looked up at him. As she looked up, her face flinched a little in pain and she rubbed her stomach a bit.

"Are you okay?" Josh asked as he noticed her obvious discomfort.

"Yeah, my stomach's just been hurting a bit lately. It's weird. But I'm okay."

Josh took in a deep breath.

"Listen, Ella came over a few minutes ago."

"Has she already left?" She immediately looked to her door, visibly distraught that she may have missed her.

"No, she's still here."

Audrey immediately got up to go see her friend, not knowing what was going on. Josh caught her wrist as she headed to the door.

"Sweetheart, don't go out there yet."

Audrey stopped and studied her dad's face, which was serious and concerned. She took back her hand and stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

"What's going on?"

"She's really upset, Audrey. She said her parents were fighting and we think that her dad hit her."

Audrey shifted her stance and then changed her arms so one of the heels on her hand was pressed firmly to her mouth and she looked down at the ground.

"Audrey?" Josh could tell she was upset.

She finally started crying softly. Audrey rarely cried unless something was really upsetting her, so Josh knew he'd struck a nerve. Was there something about the Parkers that she knew and wasn't telling him?

"Audrey, sweetheart…" Josh got up and put his arm around her shoulder protectively, leading her to sit on her bed. He gently swept back a few pieces of hair that had since fallen in front of her face. "Do you need to tell me something?"

Audrey sniffled and tried to take some quick breaths in, but managed to nod in agreement.

"Okay." Josh whispered. "Take your time." He kissed her head, and rubbed her shoulder.

"El, Ella told me a few years ago that her dad hit her. But I didn't say anything. She didn't want me to. She was afraid that her dad would go to jail."

"Oh, sweetheart…" Josh felt so badly that Audrey had been keeping this secret for years. The mindset of an abused child was one full of excuses, second-guessing, and confusion. Ella loved her father deeply just like any daughter did. John was her dad. Amidst the abuse, he was also a very caring, tender, loving father, but when he got angry, he just couldn't control himself. Ella longed to bring out the gentle side of her father and felt she had failed when he got mad. She'd done something wrong and it was her fault he was angry and hit her. If only she could stop doing those little things wrong, her family would be happy. Always after he'd lost it, John would feel bad and try to make it up to her. Ella would disappear for a few days on a special trip with her father or would suddenly have dozens of new clothes, toys, or CDs and DVDs. Ella would forgive him and everything would be grand for a while, leaving young Ella to think she really did have something to do with the unleashing of his anger and the happiness of her family.

"If her dad is hurting her, that's not okay. You know that."

"But she loves him!" She interjected from her dad's arms.

"I know. That's the hardest part. He can be a great dad sometimes, but hitting another person is never okay."

"But what if he goes to jail?" Her crying had now ceased and she was breathing steadily.

"I don't know if he'll have to or not. But he's an adult. He knew all along what he was doing is wrong, and he needs to face the consequences. Maybe it'll be the wake-up call he needs. John needs to go get help somewhere."

The room was silent for several moments and Josh just held on to Audrey, until she spoke up again.

"Where's Ella?" She sat up and wiped her eyes.

"I think she's still in the living room with mom. Do you want to go see her?"

"Yeah." Audrey got up and quickly exited her room, making her way into the living room where, sure enough, Ella was laying down. Donna had just brought her a glass of water.

"Ella?" She called to the bundle curled up on the couch. Her friend looked up at her and her face instantly softened. Josh and Donna watched in fascination as their daughter climbed on to the couch and laid down next to Ella face to face. Audrey took her hand and they both closed their eyes and seemed to instantly be at ease. How they read and knew each other so well was lost on Josh and Donna, but whatever it was seemed to be working. Trying not to make any sounds to disturb them, Josh continued his cooking and Donna started to get the table ready for five.

Back in her bedroom, Katie had since logged on to her AOL Instant Messenger again and was happy to see that Molly was also on. A familiar shoulder to cry on and now to talk to when everything seemed to be going okay.

katiebell88: hey mol, how's it going?

crazymolly: hey, lyman

crazymolly: not too bad, you?

katiebell88: better

katiebell88: mom and I talked and I think I'm okay with running

crazymolly: good

crazymolly: it won't be so bad

crazymolly: plus my dad will surely support her, so maybe we'll get

To see each other : )

katiebell88: that would be awesome

crazymolly: I found out what school I'm going to

katiebell88: really? Which 1?

crazymolly: Huck's going to Xavier; I'm going to Nightingale-Bamford

crazymolly: it's all girls

crazymolly: we'll have to wear uniforms : (

katiebell88: that sux

crazymolly: they're not too flattering…

katiebell88: anything is flattering on you

katiebell88: I still look like a little girl

crazymolly: you do not

crazymolly: you'll be fine – give it time

katiebell88: did u ever hate gym class?

crazymolly: heck yeah

crazymolly: hated it with a passion

katiebell88: why must gym class exist?

crazymolly: it's a conspiracy

crazymolly: it's just the middle school mentality

crazymolly: life may suk for a little while, but it'll get better

katiebell88: I hope so

katiebell88: can't get much worse right now

crazymolly: it will get better

crazymolly: hang in there

crazymolly: my dad's calling – better go

katiebell88: kay

katiebell88: thanx 4 talking

crazymolly: anytime

crazymolly: xxoo

katiebell88: right back at u

crazymolly has logged off

katiebell88 has logged off

Donna Lyman nervously picked up the cordless and began walking in to her bedroom as she dialed the Parkers' number, memorized by heart for almost ten years now. She prayed to God that John wouldn't answer and she wouldn't have to talk him down. But then again, if she didn't, Carol would have to, and she most definitely didn't need that by the sound of it. Luckily, Carol picked up sounding a bit timid.

"Hello?" She whispered.

"Carol? Is that you?" Donna crinkled her eyebrows.

"Donna? Yes, yes it's me. It's Carol."

"Are you alright? Is something wrong?" Carol's tone made Donna very nervous. She sounded like she was hiding, not wanting to be found.

"I'm fine. I'm just worried about Ella. She hasn't come out of her room for over an hour."

"Carol, she's here. She showed up about a half hour ago."

"She's what? She's there? Oh my god, is she okay?"

"Yes, Carol, she's fine. She's just a little shaken up, but Audrey's taking good care of her now."

"Thank you so much, Donna. Her dad just got…he got really angry today and he snapped at Ella and me."

"Carol?"

"Yes?"

"Did he hit Ella?"

There was silence on the phone for a few moments as Carol gathered up her strength.

"Yes, he did." She said quietly, and Donna could tell she was about to start crying again.

"Carol, are you safe right now? Do you need to come over?"

"He's in the other room, but he's calm now. He might get upset if he realizes Ella's gone."

"Do you need to come over, Carol?"

"No, no, no. I'm fine." She said, not convincing Donna.

"Carol, Ella is welcome to stay overnight here, but if you need to come over, you can. Please come over if you need to."

"Okay, Donna." She sniffled once. "I'll think about it."

"Josh or I can come get you, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Donna."

"Alright. Take care." Donna told her, and then hung up. She still had a really awful feeling in her stomach about the situation. She didn't want to leave Carol alone with John if he was so angry or there was a possibility he would get angry again.

Josh and Donna remained in awe of Audrey and Katie as they both together tried to cheer up Ella. Their daughters could help Ella the way they couldn't – by just being a kid with her. Ella needed to be comforted, but she also needed to take her mind off of what was happening. She was safe now at the Lymans', and now a couple of hours later, she was beginning to relax a little.

"So your grandmother actually gave you a book about table manners?" Ella asked, smiling, as she help up a book Josh's mother had given the girls when they were about seven years old. Knowing that they were going to be growing up in the public eye, Mrs. Lyman gave the book to them as a gift before an important dinner they were to attend. The Book of Manners explained exactly how to act and what to say at a variety of formal settings from how to order food, to how to use your knife and fork.

"We were only seven. We were probably the most ill-mannered children of politicians ever. Dad's a little rough around the edges at times, and mom and grandma both said we had tons of bad habits from him." Audrey explained as all three girls sat on Audrey's bedroom floor.

Ella began to flip through the pages with an amused look on her face.

"How to place your silverwear when you have finished a meal." She announced the title of one section.

Audrey sat up in perfect posture and painted a 'better than thou' look on her face as she began to read.

"When one is finished with a meal, one should place the knife and fork parallel to each other at a 5 o'clock angle." She said in a snobbish voice. She turned the book around to show Audrey and Katie the picture, using her other hand to gesture towards it.

Katie and Audrey were both giggling and Audrey got an idea.

"I wonder what the proper way is to pick your nose in public." Audrey thought out loud. The other two started laughing as Audrey stood up and took on a proper stance.

"Is one needs to pick one's nose, one should nonchalantly bend down at the table. When one is out of others' sight, one should thoroughly insert the pointer finger into each nostril and cleanse it of any mucus. One may choose to wipe it on the table cloth, the chair, or on the nearest waitress."

They were now all red with laughter, and Ella sought to continue, joining her friend in her snobbish stance.

"How to fart politely: If one has the urge to break wind, it must be done inconspicuously. One should carefully lift one cheek approximately half an inch off the chair, and when no one is looking, gently release the air from the buttocks. Carefully take a whiff to make sure it is not deadly. If the stench is noticeable, promptly blame it on the person next to you, provided it is not someone of high importance."

Katie and Audrey were rolling on the floor at her performance and they all continued to make jokes and laugh for the next few minutes.

Back in the living room, Josh and Donna were privately discussing the new situation at hand. Both did not have a good feeling about leaving Carol alone all night with her husband. They had finally decided that Josh would go over to the Parkers' house and confront John about the situation. He would find out Ella was there eventually, and Carol should not be the one to take all the anger. With Josh there, he could try to talk him down and he could actually defend himself if things got violent. They decided not to tell the girls Josh was going over there, but were planning on bringing Carol back if they needed to.

Josh Lyman nervously pulled into the Parkers' driveway, dreading this more than anything he ever had in his life. He wasn't sure how John was going to react, but he was prepared to pull out a can of whoop-ass if he needed to. Carol and Ella did not deserve to be treated this way.

Josh knocked three times and John finally came to the door. He seemed calm enough as he opened it and saw Josh standing there.

"Josh? Is there a problem?" He asked immediately. Josh had to admit that lately, when he'd seen Mr. Parker, there had been a problem with Audrey. She'd been acting up a lot lately and Josh had been at their front door numerous times over the summer.

Josh sighed heavily. "Yes, there is."

"Come on in." John said as he opened the door wider. Josh inferred that he still must not know that Ella was not here. Josh couldn't imagine having no contact with either of his daughters while they were at home for that length of time. That was just one of the many differences between him and John Parker.

John led Josh to sit on the couch and Josh sought to explain what was going on.

"John, you may not know this, but Ella came over to our house tonight, a couple of hours ago."

John immediately looked down the hall to his daughter's bedroom, which was closed, but the light was still on.

"What? She's gone?"

"Yes." Josh ran his hand through his hair uncomfortably. "John, she was pretty upset." He said frankly.

"She was?" John looked nervous, like a little child who'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to do.

"Yeah. John, she said you got mad at her for spilling some nail polish on the carpet, and that, uh, that you ended up hitting her. Is that true?"

John's expression suddenly changed dramatically and he looked enraged.

"Are you accusing me of hitting my child?"

"John, I'm just trying to get the story right. That is what Ella told us and she showed us a bruise on her arm."

"Little liar. She got that bruise playing softball last Saturday. I never touched her."

"Then why would she say that?" Josh reasoned.

"Psh-I don't know. She's thirteen years old, Josh. You know how they are at this age. I'm sure Audrey's made up shit before. You should hear the drama she comes up with."

"Abuse is a very serious accusation, John. It's not something kids generally make up."

"So you're saying that you believe a thirteen year old girl over me?" John acted as if he were insulted."

Josh was about to speak, but then Carol appeared in the hallway.

"John, you need to tell the truth." Carol blurted.

John's head snapped in the direction of his wife's voice and he looked very irritated.

"Carol, what the hell are you talking about? Go back to the kitchen!"

"No, John!" She yelled. Josh had rarely seen Carol so upset, and he hoped that she would help coax the truth out of John. Ella was many things, but she most definitely was not a liar about this type of thing. "You hit your daughter tonight and you know it! Don't try to deny it!"

"You're all fucking crazy!" John yelled, standing up. He turned to Josh. "How dare you come into my house and accuse me of abusing my child! Get out now!"

"John…" Carol started.

"Shut UP Carol!" He screamed. The look on his face scared the hell out of even Josh.

"John, you do not tell your wife to shut up." Josh said as calmly as possible. "She deserves your respect."

"Josh, you need to shut the hell up too! Who the hell do you think you are barging in here accusing me of all this shit! You think you're some big time Senator but you don't know shit! You can't even control that psychotic ass daughter of yours."

Josh never took anyone talking trash about his family, especially his kids. Anyone who knew Josh Lyman would not be surprised that the next thing he did was slam John up against the wall and barked in his face.

"Talking shit about a thirteen year old girl, John? THIRTEEN YEARS OLD! Who the fuck do you think you are? And hitting your own daughter and your wife! How the hell are they supposed to defend themselves! You fucking piece of scum!"

Josh slammed his head into the wall again a little more forcefully this time, thinking of all the pain he must have caused Ella and Carol tonight and God knows when else. Then he threw him to the floor in frustration and towered down over him.

"You cannot be trusted. Not around MY daughters, YOUR daughter, or your wife. Get your act together, asshole. Carol, come on. We're going back to our house."

Josh didn't say much on the way back to his house. Carol sat sniffling and shaking in the passenger seat, still trying to process what had just gone on. He felt so bad for Carol that she had such a shitdick for a husband. Carol was such a wonderful, giving person and she deserved so much more.

When they reached the Lymans' house, Josh could tell that Ella had figured out where he'd gone when she came rushing out the garage door when they pulled into the driveway. Like his daughter Audrey, Ella was never one to cry much, so when he saw tears streaming down her face, he felt his heart tighten in his chest a little more. Thirteen years old. She doesn't deserve this.

Carol all but jumped out of the car and had barely had time to put her feet on the floor when she was pummeled by the sobbing mass that was her daughter.

"Momma!" She screamed into her mother's shoulder. Carol felt she couldn't offer much comfort herself as she felt like a quivering mush of emotion and. Her instincts took over and her problems soon vanished in the face of her daughter's pain.

"Shhh…I'm here now. It's okay. Dad's at home. He's not coming, okay?"

Josh had been trying to politely give them space as he stood off to the side, but watched them intently. This type of moment was not meant to be had on someone's driveway, so he finally went over to the huddled mass and gently suggested they go inside where they could all talk.

Ella would not leave her mother's side for the next couple of hours, clutching tightly to her arm, still looking terrified, but comforted that her mother was there. Everything was okay as long as her mom was there. Exhaustion soon took over Ella's body and she slowly started drooping and collapsed on her mother's shoulder, her legs tucked up closely to her body. Carol gently stroked her daughter's hair as they sat on the Lymans' couch. When her breathing had finally slowed down and she knew her daughter was sleeping, Carol silently signaled to Donna and Josh that she needed to get up. Donna helped ease Ella down to a lying position as Carol sneaked out from underneath her. Josh had wisely gone to retrieve a blanket and pillow from a closet and returned to cover Ella with it and prop her head up on the pillow. There was no need to move her to a bed now – she was exhausted and would most likely sleep like a log. Katie and Audrey had long since gone to bed, both settling in Audrey's room. Whenever there was some huge emotional spillover, the girls seemed to set aside whatever was going on in their lives and clung to each other. When Josh peeked his head in to check on them, he found that both had curled up in Audrey's bed, a tight fit, but they were offering each other the support they needed. Josh smiled and closed the door quietly.

He joined his wife and friend again in the living room. Carol was watching her daughter sleep peacefully after such a huge emotional ordeal. Carol knew what had gone on, and the Lymans had not even heard the large chunk of it. She knew Ella had probably told them the argument erupted over some minor incident, like spilling a drink at dinner, but that's not what had really gone on. Carol knew that Ella always tried her best to protect her. She didn't know how much or how little to tell people – they were trying to keep up the façade that they were a normal, relatively happy family, but they were far from it.

"Did something else happen, Carol?" Donna asked her. Donna had figured out that something far more complicated was going on beside a blow up about a relatively minor thing like spilling nail polish. It didn't seem to add up to the huge emotional blow Ella had been through. Donna had suspected that Ella had been abused before by her father, but she had never seen Ella so upset. Donna had seen her after such incidents, but this seemed to be on a different level.

Carol continued to stare at her daughter for a few more moments and finally sighed and looked over at Donna.

"I've know for weeks, but Ella found out by accident today and John just lost it."

"What is it?"

"Ella came home from soccer practice a little early and found her dad with…another woman."

Josh and Donna both gaped in surprise at the realization. They weren't totally surprised at the news – John had always seemed the type that would do something that stupid, and he had finally done it.

"He's having an affair?" Josh asked, already knowing the answer. One of his hands was now rubbing his mouth in disgust.

"Yes." Carol said quietly, ashamed. "I…I don't…"

She was interrupted by Donna quickly moving beside her, throwing her arms around her as she started sobbing again.

"Oh, Carol, I'm so sorry." Donna whispered.

"Me too."

Carol pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"So John was of course furious at Ella and that's why he hit her. Several times. He slapped her across the face and she fell down and then he punched her a few times on the arms."

Josh felt his blood begin to boil again in disgust for John and pain for Ella and Carol. How could anyone even think about doing something so awful and hurtful to people that he loved? Josh could never imagine even thinking about doing this to Donna and his girls. That fucking monster. He wanted to go straight back to the Parkers' and punch John right in the face, but that would come later. Right now, Carol and the sleeping Ella were the only things on his mind.

_And she takes another step_

_Slowly she opens the door_

_Checks that he is sleeping_

_Picks up all the broken glass_

_And furniture on the floor_

_Been up half the night screaming_

_Now it's time to get away_

_Pack up the kids in the car_

_Another bruise to try to hide_

_Another alibi to write_

_Another ditch in the road_

_You keep moving_

_Another stop sign_

_You keep moving on_

_And the years go by so fast_

_Wonder how I ever made it through_

_And there are children to think of_

_Baby's asleep in the back seat_

_Wonder how they'll ever make it_

_Through this living nightmare_

_But the mind is an amazing thing_

_Full of candy dreams_

_And new toys_

_And another cheap hotel_

_Two beds and a coffee machine_

_But there are groceries to buy_

_And she knows she'll have to go home_

_Another ditch in the road_

_You keep moving_

_Another stop sign_

_You keep moving on_

_And the years go by so fast_

_Wonder how I ever made it through_

_Another bruise to try and hide_

_Another alibi to write_

_Another lonely highway in the black of night_

_But here is hope in the darkness_

_You know you're gonna make it_

_Another ditch in the road_

_You keep moving_

_Another stop sign_

_You keep moving on_

_And the years go by so fast_

_Silent fortress built to last_

_Wonder how I ever made it_

I work for reviews! Please pay me!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Thanks for all the great reviews – it's so much more fun to write for people who I know are reading. : ) I don't know if such a thing called the Virginia State Democratic Convention exists, but we'll just pretend it does for shits and giggles. Also, I guess that Donna wouldn't need to go to the Virginia one if she's running in Connecticut and stuff but…..yeah. Maybe I'll change the state she's running for to Virginia. I don't really know. Let me know what you think, and please enjoy and review!

Linkin Park – "Numb"

I'm tired of being what you want me to be  
Feeling so faithless  
Lost under the surface  
I don't know what you're expecting of me  
Put under the pressure  
Of walking in your shoes  
Every step that I take is another mistake to you

I've become so numb  
I can't feel you there  
Become so tired  
So much more aware  
I'm becoming this  
All I want to do  
Is be more like me  
And be less like you

Can't you see that you're smothering me   
Holding too tightly  
Afraid to lose control  
Cause everything that you thought I would be  
Has fallen apart right in front of you

Every step that I take is another mistake to you   
And every second I waste is more than I can take

Ella Parker had been staying at the Lymans' house now for about the past week while the situation with her parents was worked out. Ella's mom Carol had always been the main breadwinner for the family, so the Lymans helped her work to get a restraining order against her husband for both herself and Ella so John was forced to leave the house. Everyone knew if it had been the other way round, he would have forced both his wife and daughter to leave the house. Carol also stayed at the Lymans' for several nights after the blow-up incident for safety reasons. They'd all learned the previous day that John had now actually left the state and was looking for an apartment in California. Carol was elated at the thought of his being away, but also concerned for Ella. Ella wasn't quite sure what to think in the midst of all the drama and emotion. She just wished her father would shape up and be like he was most of the time – a kind, caring, man. But he liked to blow up and he had quite a temper. Ella felt safer now that he was gone, but she still missed him.

Now also gone was the honeymoon period that had gone on between Audrey and the rest of her family. She'd felt closer to her family for the few days after the Parkers' problem, but now they all seemed like the same idiots as before. Audrey was really looking forward to finally getting away from them all this Friday at a party one of the high schoolers were throwing. Ella was invited also, but Katie had not been. Audrey felt a little bad, but it wasn't her fault her sister was a dork. Donna tried to convince her to take Katie along, but Audrey wasn't having it. Apparently, it would be social suicide.

"What are you going to wear tomorrow?" Audrey asked her friend as she helped her pack her things to move back in to her house. It was Thursday afternoon and they'd just gotten home from school. Both girls had spoken endlessly about the party the past week. Katie stayed mostly in her room because they would not shut up about it. Her parents had offered to take her out to do something special with other friends, but instead of helping, it made her feeling like an even bigger loser. Going out with her parents at the age of thirteen? She really needed Huck and Molly now.

"I think I'll wear my denim skirt and that light blue tank top." Ella answered as she folded one of her shirts and placed it in her suitcase.

"That'll look really good." Audrey told her. "It makes your boobs look bigger."

"Gee, thanks."

"I wasn't trying to say…"

"I know, I'm kidding."

"God knows Katie needs a shirt like that." Audrey joked shallowly. She knew her sister was self-conscious, but Katie had really been annoying her lately, so she didn't feel so bad taking a few low blows at her. Both of the girls giggled and continued with their packing.

Just then, Donna poked her head in the room to check on the girls. She'd just gotten home and had heard them giggling about something in Audrey's room.

"Hey, girls. What were you giggling about?"

"Oh, nothing. Just girly stuff."

"Audrey, I need to talk to you about something. Could you come into the living room?" Donna asked.

Her mother's face didn't look angry, so she didn't think she was in trouble, so Audrey glanced over at her friend before walking to the door. She followed her mother and sat down on the couch next to her. What the hell was going on now?

"Audrey, your Uncle Sam asked me to go to the State Democratic Convention today to announce my candidacy."

"That's great, mom." Audrey said as sincerely as possible, but she could really care less. She still wasn't totally on board with this running for office thing.

"They want all the candidates' families to be there too, and all our friends are coming. The Seaborns, the Zieglers, maybe even the Bartlets to support me."

"So I'd get to see Huck and Molly?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah. There's one more thing."

That was never a good thing when she said that.

"What is it?"

"It's tomorrow. At seven o'clock."

"What?" Audrey remarked angrily. Her party was supposed to start at eight. Her mother better not be expecting…

"I know that's when your party is, but Audrey…"

"No mom!" Audrey stood up yelling. "I am not missing this party for your stupid election! I've been looking forward to this for weeks! Take Katie, I'm sure she'll be happy to go since she has no life, but you don't need to drag me along."

"Audrey, I would really appreciate it if you would come. I need your support on this."

"No!"

"How's it going to look if my own daughter is not there?"

"I don't care because I'm not going."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but this time you don't have a choice." Donna stated coolly. She could have predicted that Audrey would storm back to her room and slammed the door. Donna let out a frustrated sigh and collapsed on the couch. One little party is not going to make a difference. Donna felt bad for wishing that Josh was here to talk a little sense in to Audrey. They always listened to him – she was just a little too nice.

Josh arrived home about twenty minutes later to find his wife on the couch in the same state she was after Audrey stormed off. Donna had called him during the day to let him know about the change in plans and knew she was going to talk to their temperamental daughter. He predicted it probably wouldn't go well, and he was bang on this time. He leaned over the back of the couch and put his arms around Donna.

"Didn't go too well?" Josh asked her.

"Nope." She answered in a mock-peppy voice.

"I didn't think it would." Josh admitted. "Do you think I should go talk to her?"

"No, not right now. She's still really angry."

"Okay." Josh agreed. Audrey was pretty stubborn just like he was, and he wanted to go tell her what he thought right now, but knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. "We'll talk later."

The next day, after being talked to multiple times by both parents, Audrey was still no more convinced than she had been when Donna first broke the news. Yelling didn't work; threatening her didn't work; talking calmly with her didn't work. You could cut the tension in the house with a knife.

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman, stop acting like a five year old and go get changed now!" Josh told his daughter as she stood a few feet away in jeans and a t-shirt with her arms crossed defiantly. Everyone else was dressed and ready to go. They needed to leave in ten minutes and had been battling with her for at least thirty. She'd complained a few times that she didn't want to go because her stomach was hurting again, but they figured she wouldn't want to go to the party either if it was hurting her that bad. When Audrey didn't say anything, he continued. "Is your mother going to have to drag you into your room and change you herself? If that's what it takes, that's what we'll do. You're just making this more painful for yourself."

Josh gave her the look of death for about ten seconds before he began to walk towards her, calling her bluff. Audrey stamped one foot and shrieked angrily before storming off to her bedroom, yelling "I hate you!"

The door slammed and they could all hear items of clothing being flung around the room. Donna had already picked out a few things from her closet that would be suitable to wear and laid them out on her bed. Donna had been looking forward to this night ever since she'd learned she was invited, but now she was just dreading it and wanted to get it over with.

Audrey threw on one of the outfits her mother had laid out, not even caring which one it was. She childishly pulled her hair out of the ponytail it has been in and messed it up to let them know she had not been defeated. Audrey also decided she wouldn't wear any makeup like her sister was. She could care less about this event and would therefore care less about her physical appearance.

Minutes later, Audrey emerged from her bedroom a little more collected but with a scowl on her face. She was wearing a black evening gown that complimented her well, minus the hair and the look on her face. At this point, the Lymans were all just happy that she was finally dressed. They'd deal with the hair at least later.

"Alright, let's go." Josh said upon seeing her emerge. He kicked himself mentally for wishing she were five years old again, and not at this tempestuous age. She was beginning to get difficult to live with. He loved her deeply, of course, but these games she'd been playing lately were hurtful and worried him a great deal.

The car ride began silently, but as they rolled towards D.C., Donna finally brought up the state of her daughter's hair. She'd also packed extra makeup in case she eventually stopped breathing fire.

"Audrey, what are you going to do with your hair?"

Josh and Katie both cringed at the thought of what Audrey's response would be.

"Nothing. I'm leaving it like this."

What could she say to that? You can't leave this car until your hair looks nice? That would be just what she wanted.

"Sweetheart, you can't go in there looking like that. At least put it back up in a ponytail."

"If you're too ashamed to be seen with me, why don't you just drop me off somewhere?"

"Audrey, cool it!" Josh stepped in, shooting her a warning glare in the rearview mirror. "Fix your hair now, like your mother told you to."

Audrey angrily bunched her hair up and put it in a messy bun on top of her head. She stared out the window at the passing cars. Audrey muttered something under her breath that her parents couldn't hear, but Katie caught.

"Would you just shut the hell UP!" Katie finally screamed with tears in her eyes. The sudden outburst took the other three in the car by surprise and they all flinched a little. "Would you stop worrying about your shallow-ass self and support mom for one god damn night? Just SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Audrey looked at her sister first like she wanted to explode at her, but then she just looked hurt and ashamed. She turned her body away from Katie and stared back out the window as tears began spilling over.

Katie started breathing in and out quickly. Josh and Donna were both silently thinking, 'Way to go, Katie!' but the outburst had also put a real damper on things. Hopefully Audrey wouldn't be even more pissed and Katie had actually gotten through to her sister.

Katie felt anger leaving her body with each breath out, and she couldn't tell whether or not it was a good feeling yet. It felt kind of good to finally tell Audrey what she was thinking, but she didn't like being so hateful.

With both of his daughters in tears, Josh decided he should probably pull over to calm them down. He found a relatively empty parking lot at the side of the road and put the Jeep in park. Donna immediately got out and opened the door behind her where Katie was sitting. She unbuckled her daughter's seatbelt and helped her step out of the car and sit her down on the grass nearby. Katie was still breathing in and out deeply, so Donna just gently stroked her hair and rubbed comforting circles on her back.

Josh also got out of the car, but proceeded to pace for a few minutes in one spot of the parking lot. If he tried to talk to Audrey right now, things would just get worse. After he felt he'd cooled down, Josh finally opened the car door where Audrey was sitting. Audrey had her arms crossed and stared at the Jeep's floor.

"Yelling at me is not going to help."

"I wasn't going to yell at you."

"Katie did."

"Well, you had that one coming. You were being pretty inconsiderate."

"I still didn't deserve to be yelled at like that." She rubbed her stomach like it was hurting again, but Josh continued anyway.

"Then what do you suggest we do, Audrey? We've tried everything else. You haven't responded to anything."

"Nothing you say is going to change how I feel. I don't want to go to this thing. I want to be with my friends at the party."

"We realize that. But sometimes supporting your family is more important than your social agenda. Your mother is running for the House. Right now, that is more important than going to one party."

"So you're saying that what mom wants is more important than what I want?" Audrey asked with a bit of attitude.

"Yes, at the moment it is. What you want right now only involves the present. What your mom needs tonight will affect her candidacy. Which, I'm sorry to say, is more important than what a few friends think of you at school. Running for the House affects thousands, if not millions of people. It's not for games, it's about serious issues involving many peoples' lives."

Audrey knew her dad was right, but as normal, she didn't want to admit it so she just turned her body away from him and pouted. Josh was about over it, so he just closed the door and walked away. He felt he had made a valid point and Audrey hadn't. Josh walked over to where his wife and other daughter were sitting in the grass.

"Are you okay?" He asked Katie as he sat down next to her on the other side as Donna.

Katie nodded. She seemed to be calmed down now after her outburst. It hadn't been an annoying outburst like Audrey frequented. She only did it because it was necessary. Audrey was being completely selfish and self-involved, and Josh and Donna were glad that she put her sister in her place.

"What happened?" Josh looked over at her.

"I don't know. I just snapped I guess. I'm so sick of her always throwing fits and getting what she wants."

"I know you are, and we're both proud of you for finally standing up for yourself."

Katie looked questioningly at her dad. She figured they'd be angry that she yelled seeing Audrey got in trouble when she yelled all the time.

"Really?"

Josh nodded with a light look on his face.

"I figured you'd be mad."

"Because of what happens when Audrey loses her temper?"

Katie nodded.

"Well, what you just did is a totally different thing from what Audrey does. You had good reason to be angry because Audrey was being completely self-centered. We were all sick of her going on and I think that when you put her in her place, she actually listened for once. It was great!"

"Thanks dad." She said, and smiled a little to herself.

"Now she's still pretty ticked, but I think she'll get over it."

"We better get going, guys." Donna told them. "We'll just get through tonight and think about campaigning a little more when we get home, okay?"

"Okay, mom."

"Let's hit the road." Josh announced as he got up on his feet. They all joined a still sulking Audrey in the car and continued their journey to the State Democratic Party almost silently.

When they arrived, there were a few news cameras there, and they all smiled and waved politely except for Audrey. She at least had a pleasant look on her face, but she was just going through the motions. Audrey only made eye contact or stopped when she needed to. She was being cold and uninviting, but at least she wasn't throwing another tantrum.

As the Lymans entered the room, Katie was ecstatic and almost brought to tears at the sight of all the friends she hardly ever saw anymore. Huck and Molly Ziegler were there along with their dad, Toby; Sam and Ainsley Seaborn were there with their three children; even Mr. and Mrs. Bartlet showed up to support Donna. As she had been taught, Katie first greeted all of the adults and had short 'How have you been?' conversations before bolting over excitedly to her two best friends, Huck and Molly Ziegler.

"Molly! Huck!" She cried as she hugged each of them warmly. Katie hadn't seen them for at least a month since they had moved to New York with their dad.

"Katie, it is so good to see you!" Molly raved at the sight of her friend. "We have so much to talk about."

"Oh, God, it better not be all girl stuff." Huck complained. It was tough being the only guy in a circle of friends. Sometimes they would also hang out with Sam Seaborn's seventeen-year-old daughter Courtney and he would feel even more out of it. Courtney also had two brothers, but they were aged five and eight, so they weren't much fun to hang out with. Huck somehow imagined he would end up with rugrat duty seeing that Connor and Jeffrey adored him. He could hardly wait.

Audrey Lyman had been walking around aimlessly for the past few minutes, avoiding many of the family friends she knew would love to see her. She loved being around Uncle Sam, Uncle Toby, and Grandma and Grandpa Bartlet when she was little, but she just didn't feel like seeing them tonight. She didn't feel like seeing any of these people.

Like her father had said many times, Audrey was a master politician at far too early an age, and tonight she was testing her limits out. She joined numerous conversations with various people, some of them rather prominent figures in the Democratic Party. Whenever she heard something she didn't agree with, she surprised her audience by making a comment or raising a question that was politely rude. Audrey knew the social structure of these events and knew how to manipulate them. Her dad was trying to be a bit of a wallflower and was keeping a close eye on his daughter as he'd suspected she might try to push her boundaries tonight. Josh made it a point to make sure Donna had the best night possible with the given situation; trying to handle Audrey himself while Donna had the conversations she needed to have with people. Judging by some of their expressions, Josh knew Audrey must have said some inappropriate things. He'd been playing a game of cat and mouse with her all night. Audrey knew he was watching her and he kept politely trying to move his way towards her, but she'd just politely move in another direction. Josh finally caught her, being as proper as possible, by sneaking up from behind her and leading her off to the side. He gave her a stern warning to quit all the funny business and she'd made some smart-ass comment, but he really couldn't do anything at the time without embarrassing himself and, in turn, Donna. Knowing she would probably be in even bigger trouble when she got home, Audrey finally settled off in a corner and sat in one of the bay windows and left people alone. She thought about what her friends must be doing at this very moment and how much she still wanted to be there. It was a high school party, so there would probably be alcohol. Audrey had never had alcohol before, but she was looking forward to experimenting at the party. Damn this convention. Her stomach was hurting again now and she just wanted to go home. She probably would have gotten sick if she'd tried alcohol anyways.

Audrey was busy feeling sorry for herself once more when all of a sudden she became aware of a figure walking towards her. Sensing the presence of another person, and dreading that it was her dad, she looked up with her eyebrows crinkled in defense. Audrey was surprised to see Jed Bartlet approaching her, hands in his pockets, with a pleasant look on his face.

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman." He simply stated with very little emotion. Audrey couldn't tell if she was in for a lecture or if he was going to talk to her about school or football or….

"How's your evening going?" He asked her as he took a seat next to her in the bay window.

"It's okay."

"You don't really want to be here do you?" Jed asked frankly.

Audrey studied her feet swinging below her.

"No." She answered quietly. Her parents had told her stories about their days with Grandpa Bartlet about when he was president. Audrey never thought of him as the former president of the most powerful nation in the world. He was always just Grandpa Jed. Now that she was in middle school and starting to learn about specific historic figures, she was just beginning to figure out what an important man her Grandpa Jed really was. Still, he just didn't seem so presidential to her. He was just a regular guy.

"Where do you really want to be?"

Audrey sighed.

"I was supposed to be at a friend's party. I've been excited about it for weeks and mom told me last night I'd have to come here. I wanted to come here too, but just not on the same night as my party."

Jed knew that Audrey had been having a hard time with Donna running for office. He still kept in touch with the Lymans quite frequently, and he knew more about Audrey than she thought.

"Not fair, is it?" Jed admitted. "Zoey was furious one time when I was running for president. She'd already signed up to help with the campaign for, oh, a couple of weeks, and then she got a call from one of her good buddies asking if she wanted to go to Florida with her. So, of course, Zoey in all her adolescence wanted to ditch the campaign and go, but Abby wouldn't let her and she was just furious." He gestured animatedly during his entire story, changing his facial expressions frequently.

"I know how it feels."

"Yeah." He acknowledged, then he changed his position so he was facing her. "But you know, Audrey, your mom's a pretty special person. When she was working for your dad during my administration, she did amazing things for Josh and for me and for…everyone. She put in god-awful hours for us, Audrey, and she helped so many people."

Audrey had heard stories about her mother before from other people, but hearing them from Grandpa Jed was like a whole other world. She would listen to Jed for hours when she was young hearing stories about her parents. A lot of them were funny stories, but he also told her and her sister about how Donna came to Josh's aid after he'd been shot; about how Josh flew all the way to Germany after he'd learned Donna had been hurt in Gaza; and countless other instances of their love for each other.

"One time, oh this was amazing…" Jed started. Audrey was trying to listen; she always loved hearing Grandpa Jed's stories, but her stomach was really starting to hurt again. The pain was so severe this time that she wasn't even hearing what he was saying. Audrey caught a few words here and there but her mind was focused on the mind-numbing pain that was shooting through her body. What the hell was going on?

"Audrey? Audrey?" Jed had finally realized she wasn't listening and her face had turned rather pale. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" Jed took Audrey's face in his hands and tapped her cheek lightly to bring her back. "What's wrong?"

The last thing Audrey heard was her Grandpa Jed telling her to stay there and that she was going to go get her dad and a paramedic. Audrey fainted right there at the window, and she laid sprawled out and lifeless.

Josh was at her sides within seconds after hearing from Jed that she had fainted. Donna was close behind him, hearing the commotion from across the room. Katie and the Zieglers and the Seaborns also followed, with worry plastered all over their faces.

When Josh reached Audrey, he knelt down and tried what Jed had moments before.

"Audrey! Audrey!" He called her, lightly slapping her on the cheek, trying to wake her. "Audrey, sweetheart, wake up!" Josh begged her. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes at the thought that his little girl wasn't okay. Donna reached her daughter and put a hand over her forehead and called her name gently.

"Audrey, honey. Wake up." She begged in a whisper.

Jed had already called for a paramedic, but Josh yelled for one again.

"Would someone get a doctor in here NOW!" He snapped at the crowd behind him. A couple of people ran back off. Josh couldn't tell who it was; he was too focused on his lifeless daughter.

Josh and Donna sat at their daughter's side as nervous onlookers stood by, including their other daughter and their friends. There was nothing they could do but wait for help to come.

"Please, Audrey, baby, come back. Come back." Donna cried, now feeling more guilty than ever that she'd dragged her along to this convention. Josh held her as they looked down on Audrey, silently praying for their little girl to pull through whatever the hell was happening.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Hey, guys! Sorry for the long delay – I had a major case of writer's block and I've been busy sweating my ass off. I hope this isn't too anti-climatic for y'all. Audrey fainting may have taken it a little too far but I did it for dramatic purposes. I don't know how accurate all this medical stuff is. If you know more, please feel free to let me know and enlighten me so I can change it. As always, please review – it makes me giggle in excitement.

Josh Lyman sat side by side with his wife at the Children's National Hospital waiting for any sign as to what was wrong with their daughter Audrey. Katie sat right next to Donna, her head perched on her shoulder, and her hand clutching her mother's. Surrounding them was a cocoon of their closest friends: the Bartlets, the Zieglers and the Seaborns. Without question or hesitation, they left the Convention with the Lymans and hadn't left their side ever since.

Not long after they'd arrived and much to everyone's relief, Audrey's doctor emerged. They all waited anxiously for her to speak, each person straightening up. This is not how everyone pictured their nights to end – clad in their best waiting in the emergency room. It reminded everyone too much of that infamous night at Rosslyn where they had all waited like this first for President Bartlet and then for Josh.

"You can relax, she's doing just fine now, but we do need to talk about a procedure that will need to be done."

They all waited for her to continue, but she paused apprehensively about delivering the news in front of all these people. She recognized former President Bartlet and his wife and many of the other faces seemed familiar.

"Are they all with you?" She questioned the Lymans, assuming they'd want some privacy. The Lymans had no such plan.

"We're together." Josh confirmed. "They'll all find out in two minutes anyway."

"Okay, then. Audrey has a severe case of appendicitis. I imagine it's been bothering her for a few days."

Things stared clicking in Josh and Donna's minds about their daughter's behavior. She'd been so irritable and complaining of stomach pains for almost the last week. She had no way of knowing what it was, but why hadn't they noticed her persistent pains? They were probably too busy being ticked at her.

"We need to remove it immediately, so I really need to go back to the operating room."

"Yeah, do whatever you need." Josh told her. He was still trying to process what was going on. Josh knew that an appendectomy was a relatively simple procedure, but now it was his own daughter they were talking about cutting open.

"Is she awake? Can I see her?" Donna looked up hopefully at the doctor.

"She's really not lucid right now. If we don't get started right away, her appendix could burst and the infection could spread to other places."

Donna desperately wanted to burst through the doors of the operating room and hold her daughter forever. She'd never been so afraid in her life. The face that she'd been so caught up in Audrey's misbehavior to notice that she had a potentially life-threatening condition made Donna sick inside. Maybe this running for election wasn't a good idea after all. Her daughters are still so young and need her even if they don't always show it.

Donna looked over at Katie, who still had fear plastered on her face. Katie's eyes were begging her mother for answers which she could not give. At any other time in Katie's life, Donna did have all the answers. Momma always knew just what to do. She could fix anything. But when Donna looked down at her daughter's frail, lifeless body just minutes earlier, Donna knew she wasn't invincible like she had once thought. This was out of her control. Finally, Donna put her head in her hands, hunched over her knees and began to sob. Josh positioned his body so that his head was level with Donna's and rubbed soothing circles on her back. Katie started crying at the sight of her mother losing it and Abby Bartlet took her into her arms. When Donna seemed uncontrollable, Josh finally led her to stand up and walk outside the waiting room. He knew it wasn't good for their little girl to see her mother like this. Katie cried for Donna when she saw her dad taking her out of the room, but Abby held on to her tight and Ainsley came to sit where Donna was before to help.

As soon as Josh got his wife out of the waiting room, she sank to the floor in exhaustion. Josh kneeled down in front of her, still gripping her wrists from her movement down.

"Donna!" He called her gently. "Donna, sweetheart, you need to calm down. Donna!"

"I can't!" She screamed.

"You can't what?"

"I can't run for election! Look what it's doing to our family, Josh! I should have noticed she wasn't feeling very well!"

"Donna, you cannot blame yourself for this." Josh told her seriously as his hand went to her chin, forcing her to look at him. "We all missed it. There is no way we could have known in between her behavior lately that she had something physically wrong with her."

"If we all hadn't been so busy with my election, we would have noticed, Josh. We were trying to get her to go along with it and all the while she had a freakin' infection in her appendix! What was I ever thinking, Josh? I can't even watch over my own family!"

Josh sat down next to his wife and took her in his arms once again. He knew he'd be feeling the exact same way if it had been him in this same position. It was true that they'd all been caught up in Donna's election, but that didn't put her or any of them at fault. Audrey was at that age when everything was a big deal and everything was dramatic. With all her temper tantrums, the physical issue was overlooked. Josh slowly rocked Donna back and forth on the cold, hospital floor as he waited for her to stop crying.

Back in the waiting room just a few feet away, Katie had finally calmed down and was now laying calmly in Abby Bartlet's arms surrounded by the rest of her family – Ainsley, Jed Bartlet, Sam, Toby, Huck and Molly. Slowly, the calmless and security of these people had taken over her and she suddenly felt like everything was going to be okay. She'd closed her eyes in emotional and physical exhaustion and now finally opened them to see so many sets of eyes looking happy and relieved to see her calm and awake.

"Hi guys." She mumbled, a little embarrassed.

No one said anything, but simply smiled back or gazed at her – not a creepy gaze, but one of a relieved protectiveness. Abby gently stroked her hair back.

"Hi sweetheart." Abby whispered, continuing to stroke her hair.

Katie quickly looked around once more. Her parents were still gone.

"Where's mom and dad?" She asked anyway.

"They're just outside." Sam said. "Your dad's looking after your mom. She'll be okay in a minute.

"Do we know any more about Audrey?" Katie spoke quietly, sounding much younger than she actually was.

"Nothing yet." Abby sighed. She looked over at her husband, who had his fingers laced and seemed to be looking off into the abyss just a few feet away from him on the floor. Abby could tell he was itching to say something.

"I think it must have been my bad storytelling that triggered it, my dear." He finally looked over at Katie with the straightest face. "I don't have the country's finest writing my dialogue for me anymore." Jed glanced over at Toby and Sam who both allowed themselves a small smirk. They'd always waited on him to set the mood and tone of things out of habit and he seemed to think the room needed to loosen up a little bit. They missed having him around.

"Or maybe you accidentally let one rip?" Huck tried. Molly looked straight at her brother with a look of sheer surprise and at the same time admiration.

"Huckleberry Ziegler!" Toby reprimanded him, but allowed himself a little chuckle at the same time.

Sam started cracking up at the sound of Huck's full name.

"What?" Toby demanded, looking at his friend of over 25 years.

"I'm…" He chuckled, "I'm sorry. Huckleberry. I'll never get tired of hearing that. How's Tom doing, my friend?"

More peals of laughter erupted in the room. They all felt a little guilty doing it, but perhaps it was the tension in the room that they all felt needed to be broken.

Just then, Josh and Donna walked back in the room, both looking at ease. They were alarmed to see that everyone was chuckling and they all immediately stopped, not knowing how they'd take it.

"What's going on?" Josh asked when he saw everyone trying to hold their laughter. No one spoke for a few moments, but then Toby took the initiative.

"I'm sorry, guys." Toby started, "We were trying to loosen up a little by making fun of President Bartlet. And my son. Huckleberry. As you know."

They were all half expecting Donna to snap at them all for trying to lighten up such a grave situation when the doctor walked in the opposite door. As she pulled her mask down from her face, they were all relieved to see a smile.

"She's recovering well now." The doctor announced. "You can come see her if you'd like."

Donna's face finally lit up when she finally knew her baby girl was okay. Such relief. Donna bolted from where she was standing and followed the doctor at her heels as she led her to her daughter. Josh followed several paces behind with Katie and everyone else followed suit. They soon reached Audrey's recovery room and Josh, Donna, and Katie piled in. Everyone else stood back to give them privacy. She was still sleeping and looking rather frail in her hospital bed as Donna leaned down close and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Josh went to her other side and held Audrey's arm while Katie stood next to him. On her monitor, they could see that her heartbeat was normal and the doctor reassured them she would be good to go in just a day or so. Seeing their daughter so helpless and frail still took a number on Josh and Donna. All her life they'd protected her, but from this they couldn't.

After several minutes of softly talking to Audrey, hugging and kissing her, Josh finally stood up and went out into the hallway with the doctor.

"So what caused all this? Did we miss the warning signs?" Josh asked her, still confused as to why they'd missed something so serious.

"Her appendix had become blocked and her appendix became inflamed so she was experiencing some pain in her abdomen. It's pretty common to dismiss it just as a stomach ache so there's really no one to blame in this situation."

Josh sighed out and rubbed his eyes with his hand.

"We've all been really busy lately because my wife's running for election. She's feeling really guilty right now because she thinks she wasn't paying attention enough."

"Was Audrey acting out of the ordinary?"

Josh chuckled at thought – what was ordinary behavior for Audrey?

"Well, she's a character. I'll put it that way. Everything's always so dramatic with her, so it's hard to tell when something is major or minor."

"And at this age, that can only be amplified." She reassured the worried father.

"Yeah." Josh said, not sounding at all convinced. The doctor paused before speaking again.

"Mr. Lyman, I suggest that you and your wife take a little time off the campaign if you can and spend a little alone time together with Audrey. She may resist it a little, but I bet that's just exactly what she needs. That's what the doctor is ordering." She smiled.

Josh smiled back and looked down at the floor and then up again.

"Yes, doctor. That's probably exactly what she needs."

Minutes later, Josh made his way down to the cafeteria to pick up some coffee for himself and Donna and a Mountain Dew for Katie. Just as he was putting the cream into his coffee he caught a glimpse of someone familiar out of the corner of his eye.

"Carol?" He asked the woman. "Carol, is that you?"

The woman turned to face Josh and it was indeed Carol Parker, about the last person he was expecting to see today.

"Hi, Josh." She said in a weak voice.

"What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" He walked over to her and put a hand on her arm. She didn't look like she was having a very good evening either.

"Ella's here. She's up in recovery now."

"Why? What happened?"

Carol chuckled and rubbed her forehead in frustration.

"She went to that party she and Audrey were supposed to go to together even after I told her not to. And she was drinking and she's diabetic and then she passed out. Luckily the parents came home and they remembered her condition and rushed her here. Her blood sugar was at 48."

"Oh, God, Carol. I'm so sorry. But she's okay now?"

"Yeah. Well, physically she is." Carol started to tear up a little bit. "I'm still so worried about how what happened with her dad is affecting her. She's been acting out. Nothing I say is helping."

"Let's go sit down." Josh suggested as he lead her to sit down at an isolated table by a window. It was dark outside and starting to rain now at about two in the morning, a stark reminder that neither of them should be here right now; a reminder that some things were really wrong with both their families at the moment. Josh took Carol's hand in his and looked at her straight in the eye.

"You are doing the very best you can right now with your situation, Carol. It's so hard raising daughters and I can't imagine raising one alone. You are doing an amazing job. Ella is a wonderful girl, but she's been through a lot. Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you're feeling overwhelmed or if Ella's acting up, I can be over in just a few minutes. I can talk to her. She's probably so scared and angry right now and doesn't know what to do with it. Can you call me if you're having a hard time?"

Carol took back one of her hands and wiped her eyes that had slowly been shedding tears throughout Josh's speech.

"Yes." She said, still staring down. She finally looked up at Josh's concerned eyes. "Thank you, Josh."

"Do not hesitate." Josh patted her hand in reassurance of his promise and got up, pulling her with him. He brought her into a hug and whispered a few more comforting words to her. What a night.

Josh went back to Ella's room with Carol to check on how her daughter was doing. After staying a few minutes, he decided to check back on his own daughter, but promised Carol he would be back later. Josh knew that both him and Donna would probably stay the night with Audrey and Carol would do the same with Ella. They could all be there to reassure each other and provide support.

By the time Josh got back to Audrey's room, the coffee was just warm and the Mountain Dew had lost a little of its fizz. Josh was delighted to see that Audrey had finally woken up from being sedated for surgery. The doctor had started her on a little bit of morphine for the pain. They could hear the rain outside and a light thunder beginning in the wee hours of the morning. Everyone had now come inside and were sitting or standing where they could. Katie was sitting down chatting with Courtney Seaborn and Huck and Molly Ziegler and it seemed she was doing much better now that her sister was okay.

"Hi daddy." Audrey said when she saw Josh enter the room. Donna had been looking at her daughter and turned her head at her daughter's acknowledgement he was back. Josh handed Katie her drink and then stepped over a few people until he was standing next to Audrey.

"Hi sweetheart." He kissed her forehead and then stroked her hair. "I'm glad to see you're awake."

"Did you bring me a Mountain Dew too?" She asked him with a smile. Of course she couldn't have anything like that right now, but it was reassuring to hear her joking around already.

"Yeah, I could unhook your IV fluid and replace it with Dew. How does that sound?"

"That sounds awesome." She joked and started giggling. Toby brought Josh over a stool so he could sit down next to Audrey's bed. Her normally beautiful straight blonde hair looked disheveled and unwieldy. Audrey's normal skin color was returning but she still looked pale and wan.

"Does it still hurt?" Josh asked her.

Audrey shook her head no. "The morphine's taking care of that."

Josh looked at Donna. "How often does she get that?"

"Well, she can take it as frequently as every ten minutes, the doctor said. She just has to press the button attached to her finger."

Audrey held up her right hand and started clicking the little button that allowed her morphine every ten minutes if she wanted it.

"Does it give you medicine every time you click?"

"No, Josh. Even if she clicks it every minute it only gives her medicine

every ten."

"Oh, I see." Josh remembered Donna having a similar contraption after her scare in Gaza when he visited her in Germany.

"And Josh, I wanna let you know she has way too high of a tolerance for it. No effect on her at all for at least an hour." Jed joked.

Josh looked back sarcastically at the former president and rolled his eyes. Though he knew the President was joking around, he never knew just what Audrey was thinking. Audrey really scared him sometimes and he didn't know whether to pull her in tighter or give her space.

At close to three in the morning, Josh and Donna could see that their friends were getting really tired and that the hospital was no place for them. They all wanted to be there for Josh and Donna and their family, but they were exhausted.

"Guys, do you want to go back to our house? You can crash there. Sam your house is so far away and the kids are so exhausted." Donna suggested.

Sam looked down at his two youngest, who were sleeping on his wife Ainsley. Courtney was awake but looking like a zombie alongside Huck, Molly and Katie.

"You don't need to stay here." Josh reinforced. "It's been a long night. Go get some rest."

Toby sighed out and looked at Sam and Jed.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Sam asked.

"We're fine. We'll stay here with Audrey."

"Katie, would you like to go home with us?" Ainsley asked the exhausted teenager.

Katie looked up at her parents who reassured her it was okay to leave.

"Okay." She said softly.

"Call us if you need anything at all or for any updates." Jed said as he got up off the chair.

"We will." Josh said. "Thanks so much for staying with us and sorry about your evening."

"Josh." Toby said in a dismissive voice. None of them thought twice about leaving the Convention, no matter how important it was. Audrey was a part of their family.

Slowly, everyone got up and gave reassuring hugs to Josh, Donna and Audrey. Katie was the last one to do so.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Donna asked her daughter, who was once again looking a little unsure as she hugged her mom.

"Yeah, momma, I'll be fine." Katie said, not sounding too confident.

"Grandpa Jed or Sam or Toby will drive you back over tomorrow but you can call if you need to and I'll come get you, okay?"

"Okay, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Katie."

Josh gave Katie another kiss and a hug as she left.

Josh and Donna sat back down and looked down again at their recovering daughter Audrey. She was looking sleepy and had been awake for a couple hours now with the company around. Audrey clicked her morphine button four times. She was taking hits every half hour or so.

"Sweetheart, it only works the first time you press it." Donna told her.

"I don't care." She sighed out. In the silence, they could all hear the storm brewing outside that was getting more and more intense by the minute. They could see lightning and hear thunder amidst the loud, pouring rain.

"Could the power go out?" Audrey asked.

"I don't think so, honey." Josh looked at her intently.

"What if it goes out and I can't get my morphine and I'm in pain for hours on end while they try to fix it?"

"I don't think that will happen, Audrey." Josh told her, though he wasn't quite sure how the back-up generators would work. Surely they had this power stuff down in hospitals where lives depended on it.

"Well, I better make sure I take all the morphine hits I can in case the power goes out. Every ten minutes." She proclaimed.

Donna and Josh both chuckled at her logic. It made sense but seemed a little over the top.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, sweetheart." Donna said.

"I better not take any chances."

An hour later, Audrey was getting giggly and ridiculous after taking about 10 hits of morphine in the past hour.

"She's a very kinky girl, the kind you don't take home to mother." Audrey sang, "She will never let your spirits down, once you get her off the street, ow girl! She likes the girls in the band, she says that I'm her all-time favorite. When I make the move to her room it's the right time. She's never hard to please. She's a superfreak! Superfreak! She's a superfreaky yow! Superfreak!"

Audrey was dancing the best she could in her hospital bed, mostly moving her arms to the rhythm. Josh and Donna had been trying not to laugh at the antics their daughter had been displaying for the last 20 minutes, but they could barely stand it.

"Audrey, you're going to wake someone up." Josh said, a little embarrassed but amused at the same time.

"What, you don't like my singing, daddy?"

"No, it's wonderful, sweetheart, but you're getting kind of loud."

"Well, I like to sing so they can get over it. I should start a band. Don't you think I have a great voice?"

"Whatever you want, baby."

"Would like to be my back-up dancers? You could do the robot!"

"I think we'll have to pass on that, Audrey."

Audrey looked at her father with hurt and betrayal.

"Why not, daddy?" She started to tear up.

Josh leaned over and kissed her forehead and tried to hush her.

"Shhhhh, shhhhh, baby. It just may cut into my day job a little."

"Don't you want to spend time with me? Momma?"

Donna stepped in. "Audrey, you're being silly. It's the morphine. You know your father and I can't quit our jobs to be your backup dancers while you sing 'Superfreak'."

"But it would be fun." Her voice was breaking.

"Yes, it would, but we need to pay your tuition and you've got college coming up. We don't know if we'd be quite as successful being dancers. But it's a very good idea."

Audrey stared up at her mother and studied her face closely. She looked intrigued by what her mother had just said. Audrey clicked her morphine button five times.

"Okay, honey, I think that's more than enough morphine for you. The storm's over now so the power won't go out. You need to get some rest."

"But I don't need to sleep. I like talking to you."

Even though she was high on morphine, both Josh and Donna's hearts melted a little bit at her comment. They hoped she really meant it, unlike her wish to become the lead singer of a band.

"I'm glad, sweetheart. We can talk tomorrow, though, when you're rested and feeling better."

Audrey sighed theatrically and pulled her covers up to her chin.

"Okay." She rested her head back and fell asleep immediately.

Josh and Donna looked at each other and smiled. She hadn't fallen asleep that quickly since she was probably five years old.

"Out like a light." Josh commented.

Donna glanced at her watch. "She's been awake for almost twenty hours, excluding the surgery, of course."

She stood up and stretched, feeling exhausted after being at the hospital for almost six hours.

"You need to get some rest, too." Josh told his wife. "Do you want to take those chairs over there?"

"What about you?"

"I'm fine here." Josh had been without sleep many times so it wouldn't bother him to stay up with his daughter. "I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier, but I saw Carol Parker downstairs when I went to get coffee."

This immediately caught Donna's attention and she looked wide awake once again.

"Carol Parker? What was she doing here?"

Josh sighed and rested his head in his hand on Audrey's bed.

"Ella's blood sugar plummeted at that party Audrey was going to go to when she had too much alcohol."

Donna put a hand to her head in aggravation. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine now, but it was pretty low, she said. Apparently Ella hasn't been listening too well lately, so I offered to help if it continues."

Donna's mind instinctively went to her daughter Audrey. She was supposed to be at that party but couldn't at the last minute. Audrey almost definitely would have drank at least a little bit. Or would she and Ella had drawn strength from each other and resisted? They were good kids, but they were starting to get high school friends. Donna suddenly felt guilty and felt she should have let Audrey go because she would've seen the seriousness of Ella's actions, knowing her friend was diabetic. Audrey wouldn't have let Ella drink. Why was she making all these bad decisions? Josh pretty much read his wife's mind as he saw her staring blankly off with her eyebrows crinkled like she always did when she blamed herself for something.

"Donna?" He brought her back from her trance. "Donna, it wasn't your fault if that's what you're thinking. Audrey can't be with her all the time. Ella's been acting out. She would've found a way."

Donna rubbed her forehead, considering her husband's words.

"I don't know."

"Sweetheart, you're exhausted. Go get some rest."

"Josh, I need to stay up in case Audrey…"

"Donna." He cut her off and walked over to her, taking her upper arm. You need to sleep. Josh helped her sit down on the row of four chairs, which were padded but didn't look too comfortable. He reached down and removed her shoes and then swung her legs around so she was reclined.

"Lie down."

"Josh." She moaned in protest as he retrieved an extra blanket from a nearby cupboard.

"Shhhh. You need to sleep." He covered her with the worn fleece blanket he found. Josh leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Sleep tight."

Donna decided to give up and stayed put, but decided that he couldn't stop her from getting up if she heard even a peep from Audrey. Josh turned off all the lights in the room and resumed his place on the stool next to Audrey's bed. He looked back at where Donna was laying and it appeared that she was already asleep. Turning back to Audrey, she looked to be comfortable and sleeping well, which he was immeasurably thankful for. He'd be there in the morning when she finally awoke.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Hey, everyone! This one's a bit sad and I'm afraid there's more sadness to follow. I hope that you still love Audrey and Katie and they're not too annoying or sad. Please please please review! I will love you forever!

On Saturday evening, Audrey Lyman happily examined her appendix contained in a glass jar as she rode home in her parents' car. It was kind of cool that she actually had to have an internal organ removed from her body. The tiny scar on her abdomen was like a badge of courage that she would surely show off when she returned to school. Her doctor told the Lymans to keep her home from school on Monday to give her more than enough recovery time.

Donna looked over at her daughter in the passenger seat who seemed to be entranced by her appendix.

"Audrey, would you please put that away?"

Audrey looked at her mother curiously but still held the jar up.

"Why, does the sight of an internal organ bother you?"

"Yes, it does."

"But I'm your CHILD, mom. This piece of me came partially from YOU. It's half yours!"

"The sheer ugliness of it tells me that organ came from your father."

Audrey chuckled a little as she continued to stare at the appendix.

"So, I don't have to go to school on Monday, right?"

Donna sighed. "Yes, sweetheart, but you really need to try to work ahead if you're at all up to it. You know how much work you get and if you get behind, it'll be so hard to catch up."

The New School had a rigorous academic program, so Audrey was lucky that her recovery had taken place over the weekend. Josh and Donna were still worried about her getting behind, so when she was feeling perky on Sunday, they had her start her homework. Katie would get her make-up work the next day so she could get started Monday night.

On Monday, Donna came home at noon to check on Audrey. She walked in the door to the sound of laughter. As Donna neared the living room, she found Audrey watching Jerry Springer, a show that they were forbidden to watch.

"Audrey Elizabeth Lyman!" Donna scolded her, causing her daughter to snap her head around in surprise.

"Mom!" She quickly changed the channel, "I didn't know you were coming home for lunch."

"I can see that." Donna leaned over the couch and nodded towards the TV.

Audrey smiled a little. "I couldn't resist. It was about love triangles."

"Well, besides having your mind corrupted by Mr. Springer and who knows what else, how is your day going?"

"Okay." Audrey sprayed a generous amount of Easy Cheese onto a Ritz Cracker as she spoke. She definitely looked relaxed, dressed in active pants and a tank top, sprawled out with her blanket on the sofa. "Pretty boring, I mean besides Springer of course."

"I can see you're eating healthy also." Donna snatched away the Easy Cheese from her daughter's hand, which elicited a moan from Audrey.

"The hole in my body where my appendix was wanted it. It said, 'feed me Easy Cheese.'"

Donna walked over to the kitchen and retrieved a banana for her recovering daughter instead.

"Really? Did it also tell you to watch trashy shows?"

"Yep." Audrey smiled as her mother handed her a banana. "Just a day of solace before the storm, mom."

"Aren't you just great with words today?" Donna teased her. "I must write that down."

"I'll be here all day."

Later on at school that day, Katie was trying her hardest to pay attention during science class. Photosynthesis was hard to concentrate on when her sister was at home trying to recover from an appendectomy. Ms. Lewis for once ended her lecture early and the class was given a little free time to work on homework or chat with friends quietly. Most of the class chose to chat, but Katie preferred to get started on her homework. Unlike some of her classmates, she had always loved school. Katie was engrossing herself in her work when some voices just behind her caused her to look up.

"Oh my God, I don't see one, Alicia. Do you?" She heard Amanda Gregory ask her best friend. Amanda had gotten up from her seat on the other side of the room and was sitting by her friend's desk directly behind Katie.

"No. I don't think she owns one."

"Why is she wearing that? She can't even fill it out?"

Katie felt her face turning bright red, her heart dropped, and her hand froze in place as she held a pencil in her hand. Were they talking about what she thought they were talking about?

"Hey, Katie!" Alicia called her.

Katie was terrified and she felt barely able to move, but she turned in her chair to look at the two girls behind her.

"Why don't you wear a bra?" She said, and they both started giggling. All the people around them were talking quietly and most likely didn't hear what Alicia just said, but Katie felt like she was in a spotlight on stage in front of thousands of people. Did she really just say that? If she had been smart and witty like her sister, she would have come up with the perfect comeback and shut them up, but she was empty and speechless as she turned back around in her seat without saying anything. Katie stared down at the paper on her desk and looked at the words. All the letters seemed to be jumbled up; they may have well been a foreign language. She tried to read and focus on her work, but every ounce of her attention was spent straining to hear what Alicia and Amanda were saying behind her. Katie didn't want to hear it, but somehow she felt tied to the situation. Why were they doing this?

Katie looked up at her teacher who was working on some papers at her desk, oblivious to the situation. How could she not know what was going on? Katie thought all teachers could sniff out situations like this. This kind of thing happened in the locker room, not in an actual classroom. Shouldn't she know?

"Do it! Do it!" Katie heard Amanda whisper in between giggles. Seconds later, Katie felt a pencil being run down the back of her tank top and the two girls erupted in laughter. Katie felt tears burning in the back of her eyes. She wanted to cry and to get up and run out the room, but then maybe that would call attention to what they were doing. Everyone would ask what had happened, and surely everyone would find out. Katie's throat hurt from trying not to cry and she continued to pretend this wasn't going on, staring down at her homework, pencil perched.

Amanda and Alicia's laughter seemed to pierce Katie's self-worth with every cold-hearted chuckle that came from behind her. Katie looked up again at Ms. Lewis, who continued to be oblivious to the situation. All she had to do was get up and tell Ms. Lewis what was happening and it would be over. They'd be in major trouble. Katie told herself to get up and tell the teacher, but something froze her in her seat. Escape was a mere feet away but she couldn't do it. Her gaze moved to the left to Audrey's empty seat. If Audrey were here, this never would have gone on. Even though Audrey could be self-centered and non-caring a lot of the time nowadays, she would sense what was going on and would have put a stop to it. Amanda and Alicia weren't as popular as her sister, so they'd be scared off. Had they waited for this day when Audrey was gone to do this? So they knew she couldn't come to defend her? They never would've done this to Audrey or one of the more popular girls because they were too powerful. Katie was just an easy target. They knew she wouldn't do anything back; that was her reputation. Quiet and vulnerable in an age of cattiness and meanness, Katie had become a victim this day. She'd never felt so personally violated.

The encounter had only happened within the timeframe of a couple minutes, but to Katie it seemed like hours. When she finally heard the bell ring, Katie had never felt so much relief in her life to be out of a situation.

"Bye, braless." Alicia muttered as they walked past her and out the door.

Her mother had always taught her that if she didn't have anything nice to say, not to say anything. Provided, that usually applied to situation when she and her sister were bickering, she told herself this in that moment. She couldn't think of anything to say anyway, but just in case she did, Katie thought she should remind herself. Katie knew Amanda from being in a political family. Her father was in the House of Representatives for Texas and she only lived here during the schoolyear. They knew each other from different events but had never taken to one another. Perhaps because Katie now knew that Amanda was evil.

As Katie passed Ms. Lewis's desk, she thought about telling her what had just happened, but she just wanted it to be over. Katie knew that if she started telling her about what happened, she'd probably break down in tears and embarrass herself. Other kids would probably see her crying from the hallway. She didn't want to talk about it with anyone right now. Maybe never. It was too humiliating.

Katie quickly got her things from her locker. Thank God it was the end of the day. She wouldn't have been able to concentrate on anything. As she put her last book away in her backpack, Katie finally shed a tear, but quickly wiped it away before more could follow.

Donna could instantly tell something was wrong with her daughter as she pulled up into the loading zone of the school that afternoon. Even though Katie never stood confidently, she looked defeated and distressed. Katie got in the car apathetically, tossing her backpack into the backseat.

"Hi, sweetheart." Katie heard her mother say in that soothing voice she'd come to trust and love. Donna reached over and touched her daughter's arm, knowing that something was horribly wrong. "Katie, what's wrong?"

The concern in her mother's voice pushed her over the edge and she put her hand over her eyes and started sobbing. All the hurt and disgust was now letting herself out now that she was in a safe place. She was furious. Furious at Amanda and Alicia and furious at herself for not doing anything.

Donna looked behind her and saw a long line of cars behind her waiting to pick up students. She knew she had to get away from the school before doing anything.

"Hold on, honey, I'm just gonna get out of the traffic." Donna said as she checked her mirrors and pulled out. "I'll pull over at that parking lot."

"No!" Katie managed. "I just wanna go home. Take me home!"

Donna didn't say a word to Katie as they drove down the street. Donna knew from experience that Katie wouldn't say anything about what was bothering her until she got home. There was no use prying it out; it was just Katie's way. She instead dialed her work number and got Sam.

"Sam? This is Donna. Listen, I'm not going to be able to make it back into work this afternoon. A couple of things have come up. Yes, family related. Okay, thanks, Sam. Bye." Donna ended the call and tossed her phone back down to the console.

By the time they'd reached home, Katie was breathing in and out heavily, still calming herself. She immediately got out of the car without saying a word, quickly opening the door and headed straight to her room. Donna followed her straight in and closed the door. She watched as her daughter flung herself down on her bed, burying her face in her pillow and the crying started again. Not quite knowing what to do, Donna quietly sat on her bed and rubbed circles on her back.

"Take your time and calm down, sweetheart."

Unlike with her other daughter, Katie was cut and dry about her emotions. Donna and Josh could tell that when Katie was upset, it was important and not something trivial like with Audrey. Though she wasn't as verbal and eager to talk about her problems, she did in her own time; Katie just couldn't be rushed. Finally, she sat up and ruffled her hair back in place, her face damp and red.

"In science class…two girls were being really mean to me today. In an awful way."

Donna had seen the girls through countless friend and school drama throughout the years, but she could tell this was something different. Something in her eyes told Donna that she'd really been hurt, right down to her core.

"How were they awful?"

"They were talking about me. About how I look." Katie didn't want to just come out and say it. It was just too disgusting. Would her mom think she was dumb for being so upset? Would she be mad that she hadn't told the teacher.

"About how you look?" Donna confirmed.

"Yeah. About….about my chest."

Donna was floored and disgusted at the thought of some jerk girls making her daughter feel like this. Middle school had been long ago for Donna and she had forgotten how rough and mean preteen girls could be. Donna saw her daughter as a beautiful girl and wouldn't change anything about her, though she knew Katie thought very differently. Katie's apprehensiveness and self-consciousness about her appearance had escalated in the past year. All her life she'd compared herself to Audrey and her sister now definitely looked more grown up at this point in their lives. Donna, as a girl who'd been through the same phase and turned out just fine, also knew that in a few years this would all go away, but that didn't make it any easier.

Katie watched her mother's face change from a soft, comforting figure to disgust. For a minute she thought the disgust was at her.

"What did they say?"

"They were making mean comments about me having to wear a bra and they ran a pencil up my back." The memory sent Katie back into tears. Donna edged herself closer to her daughter and took her in her arms. She was already having such trouble with herself. Why did these two spoiled, self-righteous brats have to come along and make it worse? It wasn't fair.

Donna finally pulled back after a minute or so and grabbed a tissue from Katie's nightstand and handed it to her.

"Did the teacher not hear anything or notice?"

"The whole class was talking and I sit near the back. No one noticed." Katie almost wanted someone to notice so they'd stop it, but also didn't want anyone to because she was so embarrassed. She'd already replayed the incident in her head dozens of times, sometimes with her coming up with the perfect comeback on the spot, sometimes with the teacher noticing and sending them to the principal's office, sometimes with a classmate stepping in, but mostly just the way it happened.

"Oh, Katie, I'm so sorry." Donna told her daughter with tears in her eyes.

"Who the fuck was it?" Demanded the familiar voice of Katie's twin sister, Audrey, from the doorway. "I'll kick their asses tomorrow."

Audrey walked into the room and stopped in front of Katie's bed, crossing her arms and looking undeniably pissed and vengeful. Only she was allowed to make fun of Katie.

"Audrey, don't." Donna warned her daughter. She was just like Josh, wanting to get to the root of the problem and to fix it. Katie was rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hand again.

"No! Who the hell do they think they are? Who was it, Katie?"

"Amanda and Alicia in science class."

"They're a bunch of whores! Don't even listen to them, Katie. They're trash."

Though Katie appreciated the fact that Audrey was coming to her rescue, it didn't make her feel any better that she was unpopular enough for 'trash' to make fun of her. Was she really that easy a target?

"Audrey, it's okay. You don't have to defend me."

"And what? Go back to class tomorrow like nothing ever happened?" This idea seemed unreal to Audrey. If someone messed with her, they'd get it dished right back. Why didn't Katie see it this way? "I will put them back in their places tomorrow morning, eight a.m."

Josh walked in the front door after a hard Monday to hear angry sounding voices coming from Katie's room. What had they done now? As he listened closer, he could tell it wasn't Donna yelling at one of them, it was Audrey yelling at someone. Not too out of the ordinary. Josh put his workbag down and then knocked on Katie's open door. Six eyes turned to look at him and none of them looked too welcoming.

"What's going on?"

No one spoke for a moment, and then Donna got up from Katie's bed after contemplating the move for a second or so.

"I'll be right back, Katie, okay?" She said as she reached her husband in the doorway. Donna dreaded telling him about it. He'd be just as pissed as Audrey and it would break his heart once again – how many times this week had it been?

Donna shut the bedroom door and started walking Josh over to the kitchen bar.

"What's going on? Is Katie okay?"

Donna took in a sharp breath and turned around to face her husband.

"Katie had a pretty awful day at school." She started. "And I think she'd be mortified to tell you, even though you're really close."

Katie had always been more drawn to Josh throughout her youth and there was almost literally nothing she wouldn't tell him, but now she was changing. For perhaps the first time, she didn't feel comfortable talking to her dad about her problems.

"What is it?" Josh asked again with deep concern on his face. The thought of his daughter not being able to talk to him was upsetting.

Donna dropped her voice down. "Two girls were making fun of her appearance today at school and said some pretty mean things."

"About her appearance?"

"About her physical development, Josh." Donna knew the word 'breast' scared Josh, so she deliberately chose not to use it.

Josh looked confused again so Donna gestured the area she was talking about. It finally clicked for Josh and he nodded, "Oh! They what? They did that to Katie?" He almost shrieked.

"Keep your voice down. Yes, Josh. She's pretty crushed."

"Well, didn't the school expel them or punish them?"

"She didn't tell anyone."

"What?"

"I was the first person she told. She's really embarrassed about it."

"I need to go talk to her."

"Josh, I don't know if it's a good idea." Donna's voice somewhat trailed off because Josh was already walking back towards Katie's room. Donna knew she wouldn't want her father to talk to her about this if it had happened to her. But then again, Donna and her father weren't that close. She didn't know quite what Josh would say or how Katie would react. Donna followed her husband but stood watching at the door.

Josh walked straight in to Katie's room where he found Audrey with her arm around her sister sitting on the bed. Donna watched Katie's face for any sign of objection or uneasiness and it didn't come. He took the spot on the other side of Katie and put his arm around her also, kissing her on the head.

"I think you're beautiful, Kaitlyn." Is all he said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Hey guys! Well, I've been second guessing myself about this one and whether to include this subject matter or not, and I decided to go ahead with it after some encouragement with a couple of my reviewers (thanks kursk and sapers6024!). Please know that I mean no disrespect to anyone, but I knew the Lymans would be very much affected by 9/11 since they live in D.C. and the Zieglers of course living in NYC. I backtracked a little with some of the details about the Zieglers. Toby is a political science professor at NYU and Huck goes to Stuyvesant High School. I've tried to research extensively to get things historically accurate but I also don't know NYC's layout at all. I tried my best to be as accurate as possible, so please give me some leeway!

One of my readers also brought up Audrey's behavior and specifically her language. Her profanity in the last chapter may have been a little over the top and I will probably go back and change it, but her bad behavior is also a major part of the plot of this story and my original fic. I think we all know that Josh and Donna would be wonderful parents, but even the best families with the most loving parents have trouble with their kids. Even when things seem perfect, many families struggle with how to raise children. I've tried to write the story in a way that Josh and Donna have seemed to try everything with Audrey, but they are still having problems and don't know what to do. Also, in the last chapter Audrey was defending her sister after a personally crushing day. Thank you for bringing this up, and I hope this helps explain a little.

Without further ado…here's chapter nine!

_Walk blindly to the light_

_And reach out for his hand_

_Don't ask any questions and_

_Don't try to understand_

_Open up your mind and then_

_Open up your heart_

_You will see that you and me_

_Aren't very far apart_

_Because I believe_

_That love is the answer_

_I believe _

_Love will find a way_

_Violence has spread worldwide_

_And there's families on the street_

_We sell drugs to children now_

_Oh, why can't we just see_

_That all we do is eliminate our future_

_With the things we do today_

_Money is our incentive now_

_So that makes it okay_

_But I believe_

_That love is the answer_

_I believe _

_Love will find a way_

_I believe_

_That love is the answer_

_I believe _

_Love will find a way_

The next morning, Tuesday, Josh and Donna were still talking down Audrey from trying to kick Amanda and Alicia's butts that day. They couldn't tell if she was really joking or not. After all, she was the infamous kindergartner who punched a boy in the face for kissing her on the cheek (he had cooties). They didn't think she'd actually do it, but Audrey was a bit of a firecracker. Even in the best of families, they were always there to push buttons. Finally, at 7:00 when the family left for D.C., Josh and Donna finally felt like they had talked some sense into their daughter. Violence wouldn't solve anything. They convinced her that even though she was so angry at them for hurting her sister, hurting them wouldn't do any good. Audrey reacted with her heart and her gut instincts. Most of the time, it did her good, but sometimes it got her into trouble.

Donna still noticed the subtle twinge of anger and hurt in Katie's face as they got into the Jeep. Together, they had all soothed her fears last night and tried to boost her back up. However, now she was looking defeated again at the thought of having to see Amanda and Alicia at school today. Would they try to make fun of her again? What if Audrey really did kick their asses? Sure, it would be kind of cool, but then everyone would find out what was going on and she'd be embarrassed all over again. As the family of four pulled out of their driveway in Manassas, Virginia, Josh smiled at the clear, blue sky as the sun shone down on the perfect fall day that it was.

Donna had already called the girls' school that morning to set up a meeting with the principal about Katie's incident yesterday. Katie was nervous about having to tell other people about it. She was still mortified. She was afraid she'd start crying again, but at least her mom would be there with her. Her dad would drive on to work in the Jeep and then her mom would get a taxi from school after the meeting.

The three women entered the New School of Northern Virginia together at about 7:20. Surprisingly, Audrey didn't pull away when Donna decided to give her a hug before they parted ways in front of the main office.

"Have a good day, sweetheart. And please use words, and appropriate words, if you must and not actions." Donna told Audrey seriously. She nodded meekly and let out a sigh of annoyance. With the way that Katie and Audrey had been growing apart lately, it was somewhat nice to see how much Audrey really cared about her sister.

"I love you."

"I love you too, mom. Love you Katie."

Audrey departed and slowly made her way to her first period class. Today would be a long day full of catching up on notes and checking her accuracy on assignments.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Katie was looking a little pale again and she looked like a deer in headlights.

"I'm fine." She replied, which most definitely meant that she wasn't when she used that tone and looked down. Donna reached over and took Katie's hand to comfort her. The difference between her and Audrey oftentimes was Katie's still apparent and open want to be around her parents. Audrey had been avoiding being around her mom and dad especially for over a year now, but Katie still adored both her parents. Donna treasured her connection with Katie especially.

Finally, Mrs. Burrell, the school's principal walked in and closed the door behind her. Katie imagined that she was thinking she didn't want to start her day off like this. Katie hardly ever had any contact with the principal, so she wasn't feeling too comfortable with the situation. Only bad kids went to the principal. Was Mrs. Burrell mad because she hadn't told them yesterday? Katie felt like a pain in the ass, but then Mrs. Burrell spoke as she leaned on the desk behind her and took Katie's hand.

"Katie, I am so sorry about what happened. Amanda and Alicia will be called down to the office as soon as our meeting here is over and will face disciplinary action for what they did. How are you feeling?"

Katie tried to give her a small smile. Was this supposed to make her happy and make it all go away?

"Better, I guess." She said softly. Katie figured she must have not sounded very convincing when Mrs. Burrell sighed and walked around her desk and sat down.

"Katie, what they did was totally disgusting and unacceptable at this school and anywhere else. What I need you to do is to write down, as best as you can remember, exactly what they did and said to you yesterday. Can you do that?"

Katie wondered what would happen if she bolted out of the office right now. The thought seemed appetizing but then realized it would be even more embarrassing to face Mrs. Burrell later on. She dreaded the thought but after an encouraging nod from her mother, she knew it had to be done.

"Yes. I think I can."

"Okay. Good." Mrs. Burrell smiled from behind her desk. "I'll need to speak with your mother for a few moments, so if you would like, you can start on that in Ms. Downey's office." She said.

Katie got up and looked at her mom as she headed for the door. Donna gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be out in a minute, okay?"

Katie headed to the office of Ms. Downey, the secretary. Apparently, she knew exactly what was going on also as she offered a few comforting words that made Katie feel like she was even more in a hot spotlight. She wondered what everyone was thinking about her. Katie did the best she could to write down everything she could remember about what happened. She finally finished about the same time that her mother was done talking to Mrs. Burrell. Zipping up her backpack and holding her report in her right hand, Katie went to stand by her mother. Donna stroked her daughter's hair as Mrs. Burrell began to talk.

"Katie, thank you for doing this. I will read it over and then I'll be calling the two girls down to speak with me. Do you feel okay to go back to class?"

Katie glanced at her watch – it was almost 8:00, halfway through her first period of the day.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Let me know if they give you any more problems whatsoever." Mrs. Burrell told her. Katie was also afraid of the backlash; of what they would say after she had gotten them in trouble. Would it get even worse?

Donna watched with a heavy heart as Katie hugged her goodbye and headed out the office door away to her first class of the day. She always worried greatly about Katie's personal strength. This was a serious blow and she ached to think of what it was doing to her confidence.

"Thank you again, Mrs. Burrell."

"Thank you for encouraging Katie to speak up. A lot of girls don't ever tell anyone, I'm afraid. I'm glad she has such a great relationship with you that she felt comfortable coming forward."

"Me too." Donna smiled. She knew she'd be thinking about her daughter all day and wondering if she'd run in to Amanda and Alicia and what would happen. As the girls got older and older, it got harder, of course, to protect them from certain things. She and Josh could protect them from things like the media and criminals and rated 'R' movies, but not things as seemingly simple as evil teenage girls. So ironic, she thought. Donna had a taxi called for her and she finally made her way to Capitol Hill a little after 8 a.m.

Katie was terrified of what may happen in her second period class. Alicia was also in pre-algebra with her during this period. She'd already been called to the office by the time the bell rang, but Katie was terrified that she'd return later and be vengeful. Katie tried her best to concentrate on the damn algebraic equations she was trying to solve, but her mind kept wandering. She spent most of the period dreading the return of Alicia. Thankfully, Amanda wasn't in any of her classes until last period with Audrey. Katie didn't think they'd try anything now that Audrey was back.

Josh Lyman sat in his kooshy office in the Capitol Building reading up on a few resources his assistant had given him about the republican he would be meeting with later in the day. The Senator didn't usually have his television turned on, but it was somewhat helping him keep his mind on his work. He knew that worrying all day about Katie wouldn't help her at all, but he couldn't stop thinking of her. Donna would probably be back in the city by now; it was almost quarter to nine. They'd agreed to meet for lunch at noon to talk about what happened and what they should do next, if anything. At the commercial break on CNN, he got up to stretch and walk around his office a bit to get his blood flowing back to his brain a bit. He stopped to look out the window and again admired what a beautiful morning it was. What a perfect day. Josh had just sat down and picked up his pen when a Breaking News bulletin caused him to drop it suddenly on his desk.

"Yeah. This just in. You're looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. CNN Center is just beginning to work on this story, obviously, calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning there on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again, a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center."

"Donna!" Yelled Sam from the next room over. Donna spun her head around from her desk to see her friend's face plastered with worry. "Donna! Turn on your TV!"

Seeing the urgency in his request, Donna reached for the remote and turned on the TV, which was set to CNN as usual. On the screen, Donna saw the two tall, graceful Twin Towers with spoke billowing out from one of them.

"What happened?" Donna quickly read the ticker at the bottom of the screen, catching words here and there as she listened to Sam but didn't really take it in.

"A plane crashed into the building just a few minutes ago. They think maybe it was in trouble and tried to ditch in the water and missed."

Donna made a face as she watched the picture and thought about what her assistant just said. Something wasn't sitting right.

"Sam, how could a plane have all that sky and accidentally hit the tallest building? A couple hundred feet in one direction and it would be clear."

"I don't know Donna."

Both of them continued to watch the screen as the reporters continued to comment on what they were seeing and what they thought was going on.

"What's that?" Donna asked a few minutes later. Out of the corner of the screen, they could both begin to make out a small object that was moving across the TV. As it moved closer, they soon reasoned that it was another airplane. "Sam? What's going on?"

Neither said anything and just watched the screen. The airplane moved closer and closer to the two towers. They both stood up as it got close enough and at such an angle that they knew it was going to hit the second tower. Donna and Sam both gasped in horror as they saw a cloud of fire engulf a large part of the tower.

"Oh my God!" They both screamed over and over again. Donna felt tears begin to burn in the back of her eyes.

Josh Lyman picked up the telephone seconds after witnessing another jet plane crash into the World Trade Center. Donna picked up almost immediately.

"Hello?" She was crying, so Josh knew she was watching.

"Donna? Sweetheart are you watching the TV?" He asked anyway.

"Yes." She cried. "Josh, what's happening? It wasn't an accident! What the HELL is happening?"

"Calm down, sweetheart. Take some deep breaths, okay?"

"Oh…" She gasped. "Okay…" Donna tried her best, but she was failing miserably as Josh heard her choking on her tears. Josh just listened and waited as his eyes remained glued on his television. What the hell WAS going on? Was this really happening? His mind was running everywhere – what was there to even compare this to? As the shock was wearing off from what she had just witnessed, Donna's breathing steadied and she wasn't crying anymore, but she was shaking.

"Donna?" Her husband's voice was low and concerned.

"What?"

"Donna, I'm coming over, okay?" Josh decided. He could tell she was terrified and so was he. At least they could be together. Their agendas would have to wait because the world was standing still.

Molly Ziegler stood in awe and utter fear at the window of her classroom at Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City. On 92nd Street, the Towers were quite a ways off, but they could make out the shadows of the buildings and billowing smoke coming from both. At about 8:45, they'd all heard a loud boom coming from the South. All the students rushed to the window where they'd now been for a little over an hour. No one had known what had gone on, but it scared the living hell out of all of them. They'd learned just a few minutes ago that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Her thoughts had immediately gone to her brother and father who were also in the city at the time. They had no reason to be at the World Trade Center, but there was always that chance that for some freak reason one of them would be nearby. Huck's school, Stuyvesant, was mere blocks from the towers. She had no doubt that he and his classmates were doing the exact same thing as they were right now at a horrifying distance. But what about her dad? Where was he? She looked back at the television playing in the background, making it all too real that this was major. This was major and she was watching it with her own eyes. As she watched the television, suddenly she saw that one of the towers was starting to fall. Molly snapped her head back to the window where she checked the live image. Her head darted back and forth between the TV and the skyline as the south tower crumbled floor by floor against the beautiful blue sky, leaving a huge cloud of smoke and dust where it stood, quickly bleeding through the streets. Classmates all around her were screaming for their parents, some of whom worked in one of the two buildings. Kids her age complained all the time about hating their parents, but she'd never seen so many of them crying for their moms and dads before in her life. Many were on their cell phones trying frantically and desperately to reach them. Molly wondered how much of the country and world knew what was going on.

Audrey Lyman looked up at the clock in her classroom during third period. 10:07. Would this class ever end? She decided this was the most boring day of class ever. The teacher was babbling on about the Constitution when a student walked in and handed the teacher a note. Mrs. Downey had being acting kind of weird all period long, as her last teacher had. Audrey figured someone important to the school must have died or something. Her classmate Jared had mentioned something to her during passing period about there being a plane crash in New York and that it had hit a building. He'd heard it from his older brother who was in the other wing of the school – the high school. Audrey thought the message was kind of weird but what the hell did he mean that the plane had hit the building? She shrugged it off, not knowing anything to reference it to, figuring it was some tiny plane knicking one of those giant buildings in New York. What kind of damage could it have done? It probably wasn't a big deal…back to the Constitution…

"Audrey Lyman." Mrs. Downey called her. "The principal would like to see you." She waved the note around in her hand, signaling for Audrey to come get the hall pass. Audrey figured it had something to do with what had happened to Katie yesterday. The principal probably wanted to ask her a few questions and to make sure she was looking out for her sister.

When Audrey got to the principal's office, she could see a group of six or seven people crowded into the secretary's office. She didn't know what they were doing, but she thought it was really weird. Maybe it was about the plane accident. Audrey stepped into the principal's office to see both her sister Katie and Amanda Reynolds sitting in two chairs in front of Mrs. Burrell's desk. The principal didn't look too happy; she almost looked upset. Maybe something else had happened between them this morning.

"Close the door please, Audrey, and we'll get started." Mrs. Burrell requested in a shaky tone that she was obviously trying to hide. Audrey did as she was told and took the third seat next to her sister Katie. She decided not to look at Amanda.

"Girls, the reason I called you down here…" Mrs. Burrell started, and then cleared her throat. "The reason you're here is because we've been notified by your parents to let you know about a situation."

That could mean anything to the three girls – coming from political families, there was always that chance. Their parents were all important people. All three hearts started beating faster and the looks on their faces must have prompted Mrs. Burrell's next statement.

"They're all okay. They're fine." She cleared up. "But I wanted to let you three know in person here in my office before I tell the rest of the school. There's been some terrorist attacks in New York City and in D.C. Two airplanes hit the World Trade Center at 8:45 and a little after 9, and one hit the Pentagon at 9:40. They think the Capitol Building or the White House may also be a target and they believe there's still one other hijacked plane in the air, so they're evacuating. Your parents are all safe. They didn't want you to panic."

All three girls were frozen. What to say? Huh?

"What?" Audrey finally said out loud.

"Let's go into the next room where there's a television. It's hard to imagine, I know. It's not something anybody ever imagined." Mrs. Burrell gestured towards the door and the three girls stood up. Audrey and Katie looked at one another, communicating their confusion and worry. Katie caught a glimpse of Amanda's face. She didn't look scared, she just looked confused like they were.

In the secretary's office, the same group of people was gathered around a small television, and Mrs. Burrell tried to push her way through.

"Excuse me, everyone, can you let these three young ladies through?" When everyone looked back to see who it was, all their faces immediately changed from shock to empathy. They all knew who their parents were and knew they could possibly be in danger. All six people stepped aside quickly, giving them a reassuring nod as they exited the room.

The first thing they saw on the television was one tall building standing, battered, in the morning sunlight, and a huge, ever-growing cloud of gray engulfing countless other buildings. As they tried to take the image in, Katie put a hand to her mouth and Amanda had to sit down, while Audrey looked outraged. It seemed like it was happening in slow motion. Katie didn't feel the shock of it all until Amanda muttered, "Oh my God..". It was then that she understood exactly what was going on. Someone had deliberately just killed probably thousands of people. A one hundred story building had just collapsed. Katie began to process that there were people inside when it had fallen. God, what had they been thinking? How horrible for your last moments to be filled with utter chaos and terror.

"The other tower's gonna fall." Audrey stated decidedly, but her voice was shaking. The camera view shifted and the girls thought what they thought was debris falling falling from the remaining tower, but soon the realization came that it was people jumping. This was too much for Katie to bear finally, and she broke down sobbing, falling to the floor. Was it that desperate that they saw no hope? Forgetting what had happened yesterday, Katie gave in to the kind, caring hand that was now wrapped around her shoulders – Amanda's hand. She was just as scared right now. Everyone was scared.

Huck Ziegler and his classmates had been told minutes ago that school had been cancelled for the day and to flee the area near the World Trade Center. The school administrators decided the students would be safer the farther they could get away from Ground Zero, so they were released. They didn't need to see what was going on, and the building was damaged. Huck opted to stay with several of his friends, all of them not really knowing what to do. His friend Tom lived two blocks from WTC and he couldn't go home, so they all decided to walk to New York University where Huck's dad taught while continuing to try to get a hold of any of their parents on their cell phones. Molly was a long way away from Ground Zero so Huck reasoned her school would not be released. If he thought he knew his dad, he would be heading straight to Huck's school to get him after making sure Molly was safe at school. None of the boys could get a signal on any of their phones. As Huck looked around at all the other citizens walking – just walking – he realized why. _Everyone_ was trying to get a hold of their loved ones.

"Do you think Huck and Molly and Uncle Toby are near there?" Katie asked her sister after she'd calmed down somewhat.

"I don't know" said Audrey honestly. All they knew was the name of the two schools where Huck and Molly went. Whether they were near the World Trade Center or not was a mystery to them both. Katie wondered if her parents knew anything and told the principal not to tell them. Audrey fished her cell phone out of her backpack, which she wasn't supposed to have in school. As fast as her fingers would move, she dialed Huck's cell phone number, hoping that he had it on him. A voice came on saying the wireless customer did not have service.

"He doesn't have any service." Audrey choked out. Their minds immediately turned to the worst. Was his school close enough to be affected by the blast? Was he lying there dead – one of the faceless victims?

As Huck walked down the crowded street that had turned into a giant sidewalk, his mind couldn't wander far from his sister and his dad. He hoped that his sister was still safe and sound at her school, that they hadn't released them like his school had. New York University was a long hike from where they were. Huck had no idea where his dad would be, but he had no doubt in his mind that he would be looking for him. The boys all walked silently together, not knowing what to say. It was all still too unreal. They felt like they were in some horrible Hollywood movie. From behind them, they suddenly started to hear a horrible, booming, screeching groan. They all stopped and looked behind them to see that the other tower was beginning to fall. Even though they were already far enough away, they started to run again, anxious to get further and wanting to find their families.

Toby felt like he'd been punched in the stomach for the second time today seeing the north tower collapse. He'd been trying to get to Huck's school ever since he saw the first tower start to fall half an hour ago. Not knowing what kind of damage was being caused around the towers, Toby's mind was going ballistic wondering if he had just watched his son die from a distance. He ran – he never ran – towards lower Manhattan. He'd been there at Bartlet's assassination attempt; he'd been terrified for his own life, but this was difference. HIS SON was in danger and nothing else mattered right now – not the blisters on his feet, not the lecture room full of students he abandoned, not the human instinct that told him to run from the cloud of billowing smoke. He needed to hold his son.

"This is like this generation's Pearl Harbor." Amanda said softly, all of their eyes still glued to the set. Amanda's comment set in stone that what was happening was major and historic. They will now forever remember this day; where they were when they heard the news; what their initial thoughts were. "Everything's going to change."

The three girls had been watching the television for almost an hour now. They'd witnessed the second tower collapsing and listened to the newscasters struggling for words for the first time in their memory. Everything was uncertain – was it over? What kind of sick people would do this? Why?

"I can't stop thinking of the Zieglers." Audrey spoke softly. "Do you think they would have called mom and dad?"

"I hope so."

"You have friends in New York?" Amanda asked them both, displaying a level of concern Katie thought not possible yesterday.

"Yeah, family friends. We don't know how close they are to it." Katie explained.

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

As the girls continued to watch, amidst the feelings of terror and disbelief, a new emotion emerged: pride. Heroism, something that wasn't seen very often, was everywhere today. Strangers helping each other, stores giving out water to anyone walking by, firemen and police officers rushing to the scene without hesitation. Amidst the inhumanity of the day, true humanity surfaced.

Huck Ziegler dialed his cell phone for about the twentieth time that day, trying to reach his sister this time. He must have found a pocket of good reception, because he finally heard the phone ringing. Not wanting to ruin this opportunity, Huck stopped dead in his tracks so he wouldn't lose the signal.

"Hello?" Molly's voice had never sounded so sweet.

"Molly!"

"Huck, is that you?" Molly cried, standing up and going straight to the window as if she might be able to see him amidst the thousands in the streets. Her school had been wonderful about letting students make phone calls and receive them, no matter where they were. Molly happened to be sitting in her precalculus classroom. None of the teachers had actually tried to teach anything since the first plane hit – they all understood, having families in New York as well, and let the students talk about their feelings and make phone calls.

"Are you okay? Are you at school?" Huck asked her.

"Yes, we're fine. I'm still at school. Where are you?"

"I'm making my way to NYU to find dad."

"He called here. He went to look for you."

"I thought he would. I'm gonna try to call him again now."

"Huck?"

"Yes, Molly?"

"Are you okay? I mean, did you see things?"

Huck tried to push back the rush of memories that still didn't seem real in his head. He'd seen things alright – things he never cared to see again.

"I'm fine." Huck tried to hold back tears that were threatening to spill over. "I'm safe. I gotta try to call dad, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you, Molly."

"I love you too."

Huck hung up the phone and immediately started dialing his father's cell phone. He hoped that he was also in an area that was getting reception. Huck didn't even hear the phone ring, because his dad picked up immediately.

"Hello? Huck?" Toby's frantic voice asked.

"Dad! Dad, it's me!" He basically yelled.

Toby stopped and leaned over, catching his breath from jogging down the streets of New York.

"Oh, thank God!" Toby panted, overtaken with emotion from relief. "Huck, are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, dad. I…I was trying to head to NYU to find you."

"What street are you on? I was heading towards you."

"I'm on Broadway. I just passed the Holland Tunnel."

"Okay, just stay right there where you are. I'm almost there."

"Okay, dad. I'm standing next to a payphone."

"Don't hang up, okay? I think I'm close."

Huck could hear that his dad was jogging again, knowing that his son was nearby and wanting to get to him as soon as possible.

"Dad, I got a hold of Molly at school too. I talked to her a few minutes ago."

"Good! How's she doing?"

"She sounds pretty scared, but I think she's better now that she knows we're both okay."

"We'll go get her as soon as I find you. We're going home."

"Dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"What about Uncle Josh and Aunt Donna. Have you heard from them?"

Toby hadn't even thought of what was going on in D.C. because he had been so dead set on getting to his kids. He knew the Pentagon had been hit, but there was no reason for them to be there.

"No, I haven't, Huck. We'll call them as soon as we get home, okay?"

"Okay." The phone went silent for a few moments and Huck could hear his dad panting. "Dad! I see you! Keep walking straight!"

"Where are you?"

Huck felt himself about ready to cry from joy. He'd never been so happy to see his dad in his life.

"Dad! Dad, keep walking!" Huck starting cutting across the street, filled with people, to his father that was on the other side. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would burst out. He'd never seen his dad looking so vulnerable – looking around everywhere for him, so worried but now with so much hope. Finally, Huck jogged and he was in feet of his dad. Toby turned his head to see his son and Huck knew he'd be okay. The fifteen year old ran into his father's arm harder than he expected he would, finally allowing himself to cry.

Toby felt himself start to cry, squeezing his son tight, feeling that he was safe there with him.

"You're okay now." Toby whispered to Huck. "We're okay."

He'd confessed to a friend once before the twins were born that he didn't think he'd love his kids the right way; that he wouldn't love them like other parents did. At this moment, his capacity of love for his son and daughter seemed never-ending; infinite; unbreakable; the deepest kind.

After learning the building was being evacuated, Josh and Donna Lyman decided they just wanted to get the hell out of D.C., pick up their girls and go home to be a family. While many of their colleagues waited around in diners outside the city and such, they felt the calling that they needed to be with their daughters. Knowing them, they'd probably be second-guessing and worrying if their parents were okay. They wouldn't be able to do much at school anyway today.

Josh was speeding down the highway as quickly as he could, though it was filled with people trying to get out just like they were.

"Josh, slow down. We want to get there alive."

Josh noticed his speed and slowed down a little.

"Sorry. I just want to get there."

"I know." Donna reached over and put her hand over his. "We'll all be together and everything will be okay."

"Toby hasn't called yet. I'm getting really worried about them, Donna. Isn't Huck's school right near the site? Stuyvesant, isn't it?"

At the reminder of the danger the Zieglers were in, Donna felt her stomach tighten again.

"Yeah. I'll keep trying."

Donna continued to try on her cell phone to reach Toby but was still getting no luck. Finally, they reached the girls' school and headed to the principal's office where Donna had been earlier.

When Mrs. Burrell saw Donna and Josh walk in, a smile came to her face and she stood to greet them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lyman. I thought I'd probably be seeing you today. The girls are actually in the secretary's office. I let them stay because they were so upset." Mrs. Burrell gestured towards the room with the door closed and walked them over. Knocking the door, she called the girls gently.

"Audrey? Katie? Your parents are here."

Like five year olds after their first day of kindergarten, both twins leapt up from their seats with a look of pure relief and infinite love all tied together. The hug turned into a large, four-person hug, everyone smiling to see each other.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Audrey said, sniffling a little.

"Us too, sweetheart." Josh told her, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Amanda looked on to the family of four. She wondered why her dad wasn't here. Josh looked over momentarily and caught her worried expression.

"Amanda, your dad's fine. He's actually on his way over. We talked to him before we left."

Her face immediately lit up.

"He is?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes." Josh knew Senator Reynolds quite well from the Hill and knew he was just as anxious to get to his daughter as they were. As a single father, he was probably ever more anxious to do so. About a minute later, he walked in the door.

"Daddy!" She called and ran into his arms. It was hard yesterday to picture Amanda as a little girl who needed her dad like she did now. Katie could see that even though she'd done something horrible to her yesterday, she was really the same as her right now.

After a minute or so of hugging, Amanda finally released herself from her father's arms to look at Audrey and Katie. Slowly, she walked towards the twins standing with their parents.

"Katie, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. I really hope you can forgive me. I was really stupid."

The four Lymans were impressed that Amanda had the character to walk up and apologize to Katie in front of all of them. That was pretty big of her. Katie felt her dad's hand on her shoulder in encouragement.

"Thanks, Amanda. I'd like to talk about it some more, but I think I can forgive you."

Josh and Donna were proud of Katie for still sticking up for herself. What Amanda had done really hurt her and the issue still needed to be addressed. They were glad to see that she was able to stand up and take charge of what was happening in her life.

"Okay. We'll talk, after….all this." She gestured to the TV.

"Alright. See you tomorrow."

"Bye guys." She offered a smile to Josh and Donna, who smiled back. They weren't sure if Senator Reynolds knew what had gone on yet, but were sure he'd know in the near future. He was a good man and they had no doubt this issue would be resolved.

Josh, Donna, Katie and Audrey all piled into the Jeep Grand Cherokee outside the school. It was a little after noon now in perhaps the longest day in memory.

"Have you heard from the Zieglers?" Audrey spoke up in concern for their friends, who were really practically family.

"We've been trying to get them, but the cell phones are having trouble working there, apparently, because everyone's trying to use them. But we'll keep trying."

Immediately, Donna pulled her cell phone out again to do that. No signal again. They were all talking about where they were when they found out what was going on. Josh and Donna were impressed at how the school handled the Senators' daughters.

"We were pretty sure the second tower would fall too…"

Katie's sentence was interrupted by Donna's cell phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID to see that it was Toby Ziegler.

"Hello? Toby?" Donna answered, her heart racing.

"Donna, yeah, it's me."

"I've been trying to get a hold of you."

"I've been trying to reach you, too, but the phones are just…awful. I just wanted to let you know we're all okay. Huck's fine. His school was right there by it, but he got away fine. Molly's school was far away, so she was safe, and I was a good distance from it."

"Oh, thank God, Toby." She told him, then she leaned back to share the news. "They're all okay. They're fine."

"How's it your end?"

"We're all fine. Josh and I went to go pick up the girls and we're heading home now. They evacuated Capitol Hill and the White House, so we just left as soon as we found each other."

"Good. Yeah, just go home. That's what we're doing. There's people everywhere. It's chaos."

Toby's phone was cracking up even now as they neared their home near Central Park. He was walking with both Huck and Molly now, with his daughter sandwiched safely between her father and brother.

"I can't imagine, Toby. But you're all okay. Thank God you're okay."

"Yeah. Give Katie and Audrey kisses for me. Tell them Huck and Molly do too."

"I will. And you do the same from us."

"Alright. Take care."

"Bye, Toby."

Donna let out a huge sigh as she hung up the phone.

"They're on their way home now." Donna told the rest of the car.

"Good." Josh said as he stared ahead at the road. It took a little longer to get home today, but it was home. They had their family and they had their home, unlike some of their fellow Americans today.

Later that night, the Lymans were all gathered in their living room around the television, like almost virtually all the nation. The members of Congress who had opted to stay, perhaps those without school-aged children, were now gathered outside the steps of Capitol Hill. A good number of Senators or Representatives had been giving speeches and reading poetry for about the past 45 minutes, many of whom either Josh or Donna knew personally.

"The duration of our present conflict and its price may be in doubt, but there can be no doubt as to its outcome," said Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, "From this city's day of horror and all of the loss and sorrow has come strength."

The Lymans thought the session was over when the last person spoke. The four were huddled close together on the couch with Josh sitting in the middle, his left arm clutched around his wife while she leaned on his chest. Audrey was laying just in front of her mother, feeling safe beneath her mom's protective arm and resting her head on Josh's knee. Katie was on the other side of Josh, his other arm gently pulling her to him. They lay together silently, like much of the nation, as they all began to sing.

_While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,  
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,   
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,  
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer._

God bless America, land that I love  
Stand beside her and guide her  
Through the night with the light from above  
From the mountains to the prairies,  
To the ocean white with foam  
God bless America, My home sweet home.

_God bless America, My home sweet home. _


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hey, old pals! So…it's been a while…sorry for the delay. I went through kind of a hard time in the fall when I was trying to finish this up and then kinda got really into CSI (it's an awesome show – check it out!). I thought I should finish this story off since I was only one chappie away. I hope you enjoy this kind of epilogue. It's a little shorter than the other chapters. Please check out my other stories at the CSI section if you're into the show. Thanks for reading, and please review!

The next few months was a whirlwind of excitement and change for the Lyman family. After 9/11, all the concerns Katie and Audrey had about their mom running for Congress seemed miniscule and really stupid. The country was in shambles, and they'd been worried about how their lives would change just a little bit because their mother was trying to do good by the country. For once, they were both beaming with pride for their parents.

Katie Lyman nervously bolted into her parents' bedroom where they were busy getting ready for the election night results. Her mother had run a wonderful campaign, and the girls were actually excited to get to travel the state a little bit with their parents, though they tried to stay home most of the time to keep up with school. It looked like she would win the race by a landslide, and they were about to head down to the campaign headquarters. Donna was sitting at her vanity center in the corner of the room and Josh stood beside her, buttoning up his cuffs.

"Mom, I can't get this necklace tied. Will you help me out?" A flustered but still beautiful Kaitlyn asked of her mother. Donna glanced up at her daughter in her mirror, seeing one of the loves of her life dressed to the nines in a beautiful powder blue gown, her hair swept up in a bun.

"Sweetheart, you look beautiful." Josh told his daughter, not believing she was already thirteen years old. She and her twin sister were turning out wonderfully and you couldn't find a prouder father and husband. He gave her a kiss to the check and gently stroked her back.

"Here, let daddy help you out." Donna told him, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to do it, but it would amuse her to see him try. He was lucky if he could figure out how to get Donna's bra off after fifteen years of marriage.

Josh let out a sigh, knowing that Donna was toying with him.

"Come here." Katie turned her back to her dad and her eyes met her mother's in the mirror, and they both smiled at each other. Katie bit her thumbnail as her father tried unsuccessful to clasp the necklace.

"I can't get it, Donna. My thumb's too damn big. I suck at this!"

Donna could tell he was getting frustrated and decided to help him out.

"No need for profanity, Josh." She got up from the chair in one smooth motion, and went to stand behind her daughter, nudging her husband out of the way. Donna was dressed in a business-like suit that still managed to look sexy to Josh. She would always look sexy to him. Josh stood by watching as his wife fastened the necklace after only a few seconds. Simple acts of watching her as a mother were so endearing to him and reminded him of just how much and why he loved her.

"Thanks mom." Katie told her and then scurried to the door."

Donna caught Josh staring at her and smiled at his adoring face.

"What?" She flashed him a pearly smile, becoming a little embarrassed. It was so wonderful to be completely adored by someone – and someone that she adored back.

"No matter what happens, I love you." He told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning back to look into her eyes.

"Are you getting all mushy on me?" She smiled as she swayed back and forth a little bit.

"I can't help it. You're so beautiful." He leaned in slowly to kiss him, his lips working slowly and sensually with hers. Donna felt a familiar tingle in her belly, and knew he'd have to stop kissing her like that, or they'd never get to her victory party.

"Josh." She stopped him, putting a hand to his chest. "Save that thought for later." Donna pressed their foreheads together and ran her hands up and down his arms, their eyes glued together. The moment was interrupted by another bolt of energy joining them in the room.

"Mom! Can I please wear my thong? My underwear's showing through so bad!" Audrey complained. The girl was one mouth-gaping surprise after another.

"Audrey!" Both parents reprimanded her at the same time, snapping their heads to face the beautiful young girl clad in a silver dress. She had 'sparklies', as she called them, hanging from her ears.

"Absolutely not, Audrey!" Donna told her. Josh was still speechless. His daughter owned one of those? "There is no way you are going to a campaign event in a thong!"

"So you'd rather my panty line stare back at the entire state of Connecticut?"

"Yes." Josh answered for her.

Audrey glared at him, her usual flare shining loud and clear. Though she had a bit of a mouth, Audrey was still adorable in her own attitude-laced way. Josh gave her his best no-nonsense face and this time it actually worked. Audrey huffed and stormed out the room. But Josh knew her well and knew she wasn't really mad at him – just testing her limits like any middle-school preteen girl.

Donna kissed her husband and then grabbed her purse from the floor.

"Alright, let's go!" She told him.

"Your victory party awaits." Josh followed her out the room.

"Josh! We don't know that yet!" She smiled. When they reached the living room, they found Katie waiting, sitting on the couch flipping through the channels, while Audrey was still in her room with the door closed.

"Audrey! Get your skanky ass out here!" Katie called her sister. "We're ready to go!"

About a minute later, Audrey emerged from her room in a different dress that didn't show her panty line so bad. It wasn't her favorite dress, but she was over it. She wordlessly joined the rest of her family and they all headed out the front door to their waiting limo, a special treat for the night.

When they reached the campaign headquarters, tonight studded with decorations and red, white and blue everything, Josh got out the limo first and helped his two daughters out, both waving politely to the crowd. Donna took a deep breath and held her hand out, waiting for Josh to take it. Josh leaned down and kissed her hand, smiling, then gently pulled his wife up from the limo. Tonight, she was the center of attention, and she looked radiant with happiness. Josh truly couldn't remember a happier time for the family, other than when they were married and the twins were born. He gazed at his wife in amazement, completely taken aback by how far she'd come in just a few short months and her heart-stopping beauty. Donna waved to the crowd, which erupted in cheers. Together, the family of four made their way indoors for the nerve-wrecking ending. If she won, Donna would be giving a speech, and if she lost, she'd still have give a concession speech. They all hoped it would be the former, and all the polls indicated it would be.

The night was a mix of emotions for the Lymans – excitement, nervousness, and the promise of change to come to their lives. Donna knew she had her entire family behind her now, which gave her that much more confidence, and it showed through. Josh knew she had that certain charm and genuine quality that voters went for. She was charming, she knew the issues, and she was making all the right moves. Josh was purely amazed by his wife, and he showed her often that night, giving her tender kisses on the cheek and placing his hand at the small of his back whenever they walked together.

Finally, it was time for the results. Almost all counties were reporting in, with Donna taking 64 of the vote and the two other running-mates splitting the rest. They had NBC news on, waiting for the election to be called in her favor. Donna and Josh were sitting on some chairs, with Katie and Audrey on either side of them, all holding hands and shedding a few proud tears as they waited. Though it wasn't official yet, they knew their lives were about to change, and the girls decided it would be for the better.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman." A news anchor came on. "We are ready to call the House race for district five (A/N: I don't know what district she'd be!) in favor of Donna Lyman…"

The rest of the speech was cut off by loud cheers, erupting in celebration. Josh turned to his wife and they embraced in a warm hug, filled with emotion. Josh could feel that Donna was shaking a little bit from the nerves and the excitement, so he stroked her back softly.

"I'm so proud of you, Donna." He whispered in her ear, and Donna was now spurting tears, overcome with emotion. It had been a long, trying race, and she was glad it was over now. She was anxious to get into office, however, and make some changes. Donna felt the arms of her daughters pat her back and their arms envelop them in a big family hug.

"Way to go, mom!" Katie cheered, her face beaming with proud and awe of her mother.

"You did it!" Audrey congratulated her.

The next few minutes was a blur to Donna, as many others came up to her to wish her luck and congratulate them, but none of them mattered as much as the well wishes from her husband and daughters. With them by her side, she knew she could take on Washington.

The time had come for Donna to make her victory speech, after receiving the phone calls of concession from her two opponents, which she gracefully accepted, offering both positive and praiseful words. As she entered the stage, Josh, Audrey, and Katie stood at the forefront of the stage just behind her, all three with big smiles plastered on their glowing faces. It took a minute or so for the cheering to die down, and then Donna started.

"Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen." She took a calming breath. "I…This is really a dream come true for me. I've been dreaming of serving my country in Congress for a large part of my life, so I am just in heaven right now!" She laughed, and her family joined her along with many others.

"Um…first and foremost, I want to thank my family." She nervously gestured back towards Josh and her two daughters, their eyes welling up with tears of pride. Donna offered a half-smile, her eyes becoming watery also. "I'm sorry." She fought to control her voice and stopped for a moment. "I couldn't have done it without you guys, and your support means the world to me. You're the best husband and woman could ask for, Josh. And Audrey and Kaitlyn – you make me so proud every day and I know you will do great things with your own lives. But please save some time for me and dad, okay?" She smiled and the girls both nodded. Josh looked over at his girls and wrapped an arm around the pair, kissing Audrey's head, who was standing next to him.

"And of course, thank you so much to the voters. I know I will make you proud and you will be thankful you voted me into office. Look forward to some great changes and more help to families and to the state's schools. Thank you again, and I look forward to serving you in January."

With that, Donna turned back to her family and practically ran into Josh's arms. Though it didn't really give off the image of a strong, independent Congresswoman, it was what the moment was – a celebration of her victory, which was largely dependent on the support of her family. Donna wrapped her arms around Josh's neck and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips, Josh's eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Audrey and Katie both giggled, happy that their parents were still so in love. Cheers erupted once more from the crowd, and that was the celebratory beginning of a time of great change in the Lymans' lives. It would be a trying two years with its ups and downs, but a time of great happiness and joy as Donna was finally able to achieve her dream – and no one was prouder of her of her two girls and her wonderful husband, Josh Lyman.

THE END


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